Games › Combat › Combat + Boss Rush
Should I ship a Combat Boss Rush game?
Combat + Boss Rush
Of 49 developers who shipped a Combat Boss Rush game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 79 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×2077 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 79 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,559) |
| Top 25% | $6.7k (exactly $6,742) |
| Top 5% | $1.3M (exactly $1,304,565) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 49 |
| Released games | 89 |
| Announced | 79 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 55% on the market, supply 175% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Combat, Boss Rush; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Souls-like, 2D Platformer
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Difficult
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 8,408 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Combat with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds
- + 4XFair
- + TypingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + SnowFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Match 3Long shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Political SimPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Rubinite 2026 · $2.2M 
Eldest Souls 2021 · $1.9M 
Dinoblade 2026 · $1.5M 
Terminator 2D: NO FATE 2025 · $1.3M 
NanoApostle 2024 · $710k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Rubinite | $19.99 | 3,587 94% | 108k | $2.2M (exactly $2,151,124) | Cup Dog Games, GameWorks Ventures | |
| | Eldest Souls | older | $19.99 | 3,125 76% | 94k | $1.9M (exactly $1,874,062) | Fallen Flag Studio |
| | Dinoblade | $19.99 | 2,420 90% | 73k | $1.5M (exactly $1,451,274) | Team Spino LLC | |
| | Terminator 2D: NO FATE | $29.99 | 1,450 84% | 44k | $1.3M (exactly $1,304,565) | Bitmap Bureau | |
| | NanoApostle | older | $19.99 | 1,184 95% | 36k | $710k (exactly $710,045) | 18Light Game Ltd. |
 | Perennial Order | older | $19.99 | 687 93% | 21k | $412k (exactly $411,994) | Gardenfiend Games |
 | Gurei | $15.99 | 281 83% | 8.4k | $135k (exactly $134,796) | Lobo Sagaz studio | |
 | Air Twister | older | $24.99 | 101 93% | 3.0k | $76k (exactly $75,720) | YS NET |
 | ONE BTN BOSSES | older | $11.99 | 165 87% | 5.0k | $59k (exactly $59,350) | Midnight Munchies |
 | Second Stellar | · EA | $4.99 | 334 99% | 10k | $50k (exactly $50,000) | Pepperlog |
 | Leftovers KO! | $9.99 | 92 66% | 2.8k | $28k (exactly $27,572) | Mountain Man Animation | |
 | Box Knight | $14.99 | 48 93% | 1.4k | $22k (exactly $21,586) | We Made A Thing Studios | |
 | VOIDFACE | $8.99 | 78 96% | 2.3k | $21k (exactly $21,037) | Frog Hat Labs | |
 | Bittersweet Birthday | $17.99 | 26 92% | 780 | $14k (exactly $14,032) | World Eater Games | |
 | ABYSSAL BLADE | $4.99 | 92 96% | 2.8k | $14k (exactly $13,772) | Vifer Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.