Do I ship it?

GamesCombatCombat + Minigames

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Minigames game?

Combat + Minigames

Only 13 developers shipped a Combat Minigames game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, 1 Trait Escape, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $53k, ×85 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 20 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 20 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Minigames
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Combat + Minigames: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $9.2k (exactly $9,165)
Top 5% $53k (exactly $53,347)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 33
Announced 20
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 95% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, 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
Minigames
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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, Minigames
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 384 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $900, 1 in 4 over $9.1k, 1 in 20 over $53k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Combat with a different second tag, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life older $19.99 7,017 92% 211k $4.2M (exactly $4,208,095) RGG Studio
RUMBLE · EA older $24.99 3,158 87% 95k $2.4M (exactly $2,367,553) Buckethead Entertainment
GigaBash older $24.99 1,951 94% 59k $1.5M (exactly $1,462,665) Passion Republic Games
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle older $19.99 1,130 73% 34k $678k (exactly $677,661) GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC.
Touhou Gensokyo Odyssey older $6.99 357 94% 11k $75k (exactly $74,863) Kronington
1 Trait Escape $9.99 178 97% 5.3k $53k (exactly $53,347) Andrew Katz, Jeremy Collette
Electro Bop Boxing League $14.99 84 79% 2.5k $38k (exactly $37,775) Developer Dob
Bittersweet Birthday $17.99 26 92% 780 $14k (exactly $14,032) World Eater Games
WHAT THE PAK?! · EA $5.99 51 72% 1.5k $9.2k (exactly $9,165) Wendigo Games, Broken Lyre Entertainment
Okay, Panic! older $9.99 18 38% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) Outer Harbour
QuackSquad $3.99 16 100% 480 $1.9k (exactly $1,915) Boxcutter L.A
Party Spirits $4.99 11 90% 330 $1.6k (exactly $1,647) Oliver Sebert
Soul Riders · EA $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Room 322 Games
MPPP - Multidimensional Paper Plane Project $1.99 12 91% 360 $716 (exactly $716) Vifth Floor
7 Days in Dystopia $9.99 1 100% 30 $300 (exactly $300) Yapability
The Control Group $4.99 2 100% 60 $299 (exactly $299) The Control Group, pl4netary

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