Do I ship it?

GamesCombatCombat + Programming

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Programming game?

Combat + Programming

Only 10 developers shipped a Combat Programming 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, Talented, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $14k, ×22 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×422 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 19 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 22.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 19 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Programming
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 10

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Combat + Programming: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 10
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $14k (exactly $13,786)
Top 25% $48k (exactly $47,952)
Top 5% $265k (exactly $265,058)
Developers, 2 yr 10
Released games 36
Announced 19
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Programming
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat, Programming
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 5 games average 89% positive over 2,561 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $14k, 1 in 4 over $47k, 1 in 20 over $260k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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
Talented $5.99 1,475 91% 44k $265k (exactly $265,058) TurtleFox Games
Autonauts vs Piratebots older $19.99 334 80% 10k $200k (exactly $200,300) Denki
Auto Rogue $6.99 719 91% 22k $151k (exactly $150,774) 定期的な宝物
Age Of Warbots $9.99 160 83% 4.8k $48k (exactly $47,952) VDimension
Nurose · EA older $9.99 90 87% 2.7k $27k (exactly $26,973) Orongto
Project Astra Dominium older $9.99 69 88% 2.1k $21k (exactly $20,679) Snob Entertainment UG
UNHUMAN $3.99 161 73% 4.8k $19k (exactly $19,272) Kinda Lowkey Games
Echoes of the Architects $9.99 46 80% 1.4k $14k (exactly $13,786) GFX47
UNFAIR older $9.99 21 100% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) SOLIDS Studio
Hacker Man older $19.99 8 12% 240 $4.8k (exactly $4,798) GamesBraz
Bounty Hunters · EA $5.00 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) AntiCodec
Glitch Hero $11.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Didactoons
着色 Project_Shading 技术演示demo $5.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) 虚幻将会主宰世界
Project CyberSky $11.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Xcogames LLC
Worldforge : Construct & Destroy · EA $9.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) peacedeveloper

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