Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Score Attack game?

Combat + Score Attack

Of 304 developers who shipped a Combat Score Attack 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.. 355 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 196 developers shipped in the last year and 355 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 355 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 304
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $413 → $898 → $628 → $419 → $629 → $899 → $267 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 304
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $2.0k (exactly $2,035)
Top 5% $41k (exactly $41,468)
Developers, 2 yr 304
Released games 771
Announced 355
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 20% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Score Attack
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, Score Attack; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Shooter
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 61,331 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $360, 1 in 4 over $2.0k, 1 in 20 over $41k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 127 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 355 games are announced against 196 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor 2025 · $18M Metal: Hellsinger 2022 · $13M MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls 2026 · $8.9M Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 2025 · $5.2M 20 Minutes Till Dawn 2023 · $4.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor $12.99 46,354 86% 1.4M $18M (exactly $18,064,154) Funday Games
Metal: Hellsinger older $29.99 13,989 96% 420k $13M (exactly $12,585,903) The Outsiders
MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls $59.99 4,934 48% 148k $8.9M (exactly $8,879,720) ARC SYSTEM WORKS CO., LTD
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 $59.99 2,879 83% 86k $5.2M (exactly $5,181,336) CyberConnect2
20 Minutes Till Dawn older $4.99 27,872 90% 836k $4.2M (exactly $4,172,438) flanne
HYPER DEMON older $14.99 3,087 94% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,388,224) Sorath
Monsters are Coming! $8.99 2,718 79% 82k $733k (exactly $733,045) Ludogram
Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity older $14.99 1,219 91% 37k $548k (exactly $548,184) Ankake Spa
Wizordum $19.99 880 91% 26k $528k (exactly $527,736) Emberheart Games
Asterix & Obelix XXL: Romastered older $19.99 708 78% 21k $425k (exactly $424,588) OSome Studio
Sektori $14.99 897 96% 27k $403k (exactly $403,381) Kimmo Lahtinen
Achilles: Survivor $8.99 1,454 81% 44k $392k (exactly $392,144) Dark Point Games
Helskate $24.99 301 65% 9.0k $226k (exactly $225,660) Phantom Coast
Shooters, Ready! $4.99 807 99% 24k $121k (exactly $120,808) おこめたべたべず
Metal: Hellsinger VR $29.99 107 68% 3.2k $96k (exactly $96,268) Lab42, The Outsiders

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