Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Split Screen

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Split Screen game?

Combat + Split Screen

Of 43 developers who shipped a Combat Split Screen 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.. 86 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $360, ×0.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 86 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper, while revenue is down 60% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 86 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Split Screen
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 43
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $9.6k → $1.8k → $599 → $1.8k → $718 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Split Screen: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,209)
Top 5% $49k (exactly $48,573)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 120
Announced 86
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 60% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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
Split Screen
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Split Screen; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Multiplayer, PvP
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 3D, Family Friendly
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 1,456 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 $360, 1 in 4 over $2.2k, 1 in 20 over $48k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 86 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 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

GRIP: Combat Racing 2018 · $3.3M Bang-On Balls: Chronicles 2023 · $3.2M STAR WARS™ Battlefront 2020 · $3.1M The Karters 2: Turbo Charged 2025 · EA · $938k DAVIGO: VR vs. PC 2023 · EA · $900k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
GRIP: Combat Racing older $29.99 3,669 86% 110k $3.3M (exactly $3,300,999) Caged Element
Bang-On Balls: Chronicles older $24.99 4,334 96% 130k $3.2M (exactly $3,249,200) Exit Plan Games
STAR WARS™ Battlefront older $19.99 5,190 79% 156k $3.1M (exactly $3,112,443) DICE
The Karters 2: Turbo Charged · EA $29.99 1,043 91% 31k $938k (exactly $938,387) Pixel Edge Games
DAVIGO: VR vs. PC · EA older $24.99 1,200 84% 36k $900k (exactly $899,640) Davigo Studio
Fight Crab older $19.99 747 94% 22k $448k (exactly $447,976) Calappa Games
The Last Oricru - Final Cut older $19.99 557 67% 17k $334k (exactly $334,033) GoldKnights
First Dwarf · EA older $24.99 314 76% 9.4k $235k (exactly $235,406) Star Drifters
Megabyte Punch older $14.99 409 94% 12k $184k (exactly $183,927) Team Reptile
TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials $39.99 93 78% 2.8k $112k (exactly $111,572) 3DClouds
Teeto $17.99 90 94% 2.7k $49k (exactly $48,573) Eat Pant Games
Containment Initiative 2 $14.99 89 85% 2.7k $40k (exactly $40,023) Gwyn Games LLC
Hyperspaced $16.99 27 92% 810 $14k (exactly $13,762) Rarebyte
Chaos on Wheels $9.99 34 67% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) Acodeon Development
The Henchmen $9.99 21 76% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) Alex Von Bronx
Goo Goo Grapplers $7.99 20 100% 600 $4.8k (exactly $4,794) Both Good
Pichenette $4.99 29 100% 870 $4.3k (exactly $4,341) Oh Popette Games
Nitro Turtles $7.99 10 100% 300 $2.4k (exactly $2,397) Lucky Turtle

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