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Should I ship a Martial-Arts Co-op game?
Co-op + Martial Arts
Of 21 developers who shipped a Martial-Arts Co-op 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.. 36 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×1.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×91 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 36 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $899 (exactly $899) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $50k (exactly $50,375) |
| Top 5% | $137k (exactly $136,766) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 59 |
| Announced | 36 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 10% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Co-op
- effort 7 / 10 · low · co-op on Steam means online sessions and drop-in sync
- Martial Arts
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Co-op; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Fighting
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Cartoon, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 51,091 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Co-op with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SuperheroFair
- + Boomer ShooterFair
- + GamblingFair
- + NinjaFair
- + TypingLong shot
- + Word GameLong shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
Comparable games
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO 2024 · $76M 
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty 2023 · $25M 
Absolver 2017 · $10M 
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons 2023 · $952k 
Redeemer: Enhanced Edition 2017 · $949k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO | $49.99 | 50,395 86% | 1.5M | $76M (exactly $75,577,382) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. | |
| | Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty | older | $39.99 | 20,873 49% | 626k | $25M (exactly $25,041,338) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
| | Absolver | older | $29.99 | 11,464 74% | 344k | $10M (exactly $10,314,161) | Sloclap |
| | Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons | older | $24.99 | 1,270 86% | 38k | $952k (exactly $952,119) | Secret Base |
| | Redeemer: Enhanced Edition | older | $11.99 | 2,637 87% | 79k | $949k (exactly $948,529) | Sobaka Studio |
 | Boomerang Fu | older | $14.99 | 1,805 97% | 54k | $812k (exactly $811,708) | Cranky Watermelon |
 | First Cut: Samurai Duel | older | $8.99 | 1,986 88% | 60k | $536k (exactly $535,624) | Night Eyes Interactive |
 | The Swordsmen X: Survival | older | $34.99 | 477 27% | 14k | $501k (exactly $500,707) | 上海润梦网络科技有限公司 |
 | Unruly Heroes | older | $19.99 | 763 74% | 23k | $458k (exactly $457,571) | Magic Design Studios |
 | 9 Monkeys of Shaolin | older | $19.99 | 726 84% | 22k | $435k (exactly $435,382) | Sobaka Studio |
 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed | $39.99 | 114 50% | 3.4k | $137k (exactly $136,766) | AHEARTFULOFGAMES | |
 | G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra | $24.99 | 121 56% | 3.6k | $91k (exactly $90,714) | indie.io | |
 | The Karate Kid: Street Rumble | $39.99 | 64 73% | 1.9k | $77k (exactly $76,781) | Odaclick Game Studio | |
 | Elements Divided | $14.99 | 137 86% | 4.1k | $62k (exactly $61,609) | Loco Motion Devs | |
 | Fighting Force Collection | $19.99 | 84 80% | 2.5k | $50k (exactly $50,375) | Implicit Conversions | |
 | 2 Fights in 2 Tight Spaces | · EA | $12.99 | 115 84% | 3.5k | $45k (exactly $44,816) | Ground Shatter |
 | We Could Be Heroes | $14.99 | 42 85% | 1.3k | $19k (exactly $18,887) | CebCode Games | |
 | BAD BOY BROTHER | $14.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) | ZOC Co.,Ltd. | |
 | Lone Wolf | $19.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $3.6k (exactly $3,598) | Play-Em |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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