Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Runner

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Runner?

Combat + Runner

Of 60 developers who shipped a Combat Runner 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.. 90 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $90 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 31 developers shipped in the last year and 90 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 90 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Runner
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 60
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $748 → $179 → $179 → $419 → $150 → $119 → $90 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Runner: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 60
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $90 (exactly $90)
Top 25% $987 (exactly $987)
Top 5% $20k (exactly $19,791)
Developers, 2 yr 60
Released games 208
Announced 90
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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
Runner
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, Runner; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Racing
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Stylized, 3D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 489 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 $90, 1 in 4 over $980, 1 in 20 over $19k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 90 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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

Ghostrunner 2 2023 · $9.6M Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst 2020 · $8.4M Soda Crisis 2022 · $961k HerrAnwalt: Lawyers Legacy 2022 · EA · $85k NiuMa 2025 · $47k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ghostrunner 2 older $39.99 7,981 80% 239k $9.6M (exactly $9,574,806) One More Level
Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst older $19.99 14,078 79% 422k $8.4M (exactly $8,442,577) DICE
Soda Crisis older $10.99 2,915 93% 87k $961k (exactly $961,076) Team Soda
HerrAnwalt: Lawyers Legacy · EA older $5.99 471 78% 14k $85k (exactly $84,639) Yannick
NiuMa $5.99 263 91% 7.9k $47k (exactly $47,261) Game Star
Fresh Tracks $24.99 53 94% 1.6k $40k (exactly $39,734) Buffalo Buffalo
绝命游歌 older $6.99 159 82% 4.8k $33k (exactly $33,342) DreamStep, Wild Kid Games
Kao the Kangaroo (2000 re-release) older $1.99 397 73% 12k $24k (exactly $23,701) Tate Multimedia
ReX older $24.99 31 70% 930 $23k (exactly $23,241) Ali Asfand
KILLRUN older $4.99 153 67% 4.6k $23k (exactly $22,904) BULKHEAD
Hashire HEBEREKE: EX $21.99 30 100% 900 $20k (exactly $19,791) CRT GAMES
RHYTHMKILL $9.99 45 82% 1.4k $13k (exactly $13,486) GETTAKE
SPEEDSHOT $14.99 27 100% 810 $12k (exactly $12,142) karmacode
EvoWars: New Era $8.99 25 72% 750 $6.7k (exactly $6,742) Night Steed Games
Gelatina is Hungry $14.99 8 100% 240 $3.6k (exactly $3,598) Under Castle
Echobreaker $8.99 12 100% 360 $3.2k (exactly $3,236) Upstream Arcade
Camelbirds $5.99 16 81% 480 $2.9k (exactly $2,875) 5Centov
Nitro Turtles $7.99 10 100% 300 $2.4k (exactly $2,397) Lucky Turtle

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