Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Dogs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dog Combat game?

Combat + Dogs

Of 26 developers who shipped a Dog Combat 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.. 45 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $810, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $2.7M, ×4362 the market median. Revenue is up 310% on the market; 45 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 310% on the market, 45 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Dogs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $330 → $237k → $449 → $5.1k → $359 → $628 → $1.4k (still earning) → $27k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Dogs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $807 (exactly $807)
Top 25% $37k (exactly $37,409)
Top 5% $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 67
Announced 45
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 up 310% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Dogs
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, 1990's
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 9,226 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $810, 1 in 4 over $37k, 1 in 20 over $2.7M.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 7 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Combat with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Beast of Reincarnation 2026 · $7.5M Necromunda: Hired Gun 2021 · $7.1M Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2021 · $6.5M Carnal Instinct 2021 · EA · $4.9M Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin 2020 · $4.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Beast of Reincarnation $59.99 4,188 56% 126k $7.5M (exactly $7,537,144) GAME FREAK inc.
Necromunda: Hired Gun older $39.99 5,892 68% 177k $7.1M (exactly $7,068,632) Streum On Studio
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl older $49.99 4,311 75% 129k $6.5M (exactly $6,465,207) Ludosity, Fair Play Labs
Carnal Instinct · EA older $29.99 5,407 82% 162k $4.9M (exactly $4,864,678) Team Carnal Instinct
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin older $29.99 5,004 92% 150k $4.5M (exactly $4,502,099) Edelweiss
Enigma of Fear $29.99 3,045 95% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) Dumativa, Cellbit
Arizona Sunshine® VR 2 older $29.99 2,258 84% 68k $2.0M (exactly $2,031,523) Vertigo Games
Slitterhead $49.99 1,145 78% 34k $1.7M (exactly $1,717,156) Bokeh Game Studio lnc.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 older $49.99 1,013 81% 30k $1.5M (exactly $1,519,196) Fair Play Labs
Adore older $19.99 396 87% 12k $237k (exactly $237,481) Cadabra Games
Wild Blue Skies $14.99 251 58% 7.5k $113k (exactly $112,875) Chuhai Labs, VITEI BACKROOM Inc.
Cosmobreeder Yiffai $14.99 166 84% 5.0k $75k (exactly $74,650) KEMOSHOCO
NiuMa $5.99 263 91% 7.9k $47k (exactly $47,261) Game Star
Royalty Free-For-All $11.99 104 86% 3.1k $37k (exactly $37,409) AAAA Games, LLC
Signy & Mino: Against All Gods $16.99 52 88% 1.6k $27k (exactly $26,504) AN Productions
Street Cleaner 3 $15.99 8 100% 240 $3.8k (exactly $3,838) Creaky Lantern Games
Shepherd Knight $14.99 4 100% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) Cadabra Games

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.