Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Superhero

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Superhero Combat game?

Combat + Superhero

Of 30 developers who shipped a Superhero Combat 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.. 66 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×1.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $18M, ×12234 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 66 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 66 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Superhero
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.2k → $8.1k → $55k → $1.3k → $4.5k → $3.3k → $1.1k (still earning) → $120 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Superhero: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,248)
Top 25% $19k (exactly $18,591)
Top 5% $18M (exactly $18,326,182)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 104
Announced 66
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 15% on the market, supply 15% more developers than 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Superhero
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Combat; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Comic Book, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 46,832 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $18k, 1 in 20 over $18M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Combat with a different setting or mood, 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

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered 2022 · $183M Marvel's Spider-Man 2 2025 · $60M Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales 2022 · $59M Gotham Knights 2022 · $28M LEGO® Batman™: Legacy of the Dark Knight 2026 · $18M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered older $59.99 101,879 96% 3.1M $183M (exactly $183,351,636) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 $59.99 33,433 83% 1.0M $60M (exactly $60,169,370) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales older $49.99 39,234 93% 1.2M $59M (exactly $58,839,230) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Gotham Knights older $59.99 15,688 68% 471k $28M (exactly $28,233,694) Warner Bros. Games Montréal, QLOC
LEGO® Batman™: Legacy of the Dark Knight $69.99 8,728 95% 262k $18M (exactly $18,326,182) TT Games
Invincible VS $49.99 3,031 76% 91k $4.5M (exactly $4,545,591) Quarter Up
Lost Soul Aside™ $59.99 1,307 59% 39k $2.4M (exactly $2,352,208) Ultizero Games
GigaBash older $24.99 1,951 94% 59k $1.5M (exactly $1,462,665) Passion Republic Games
Funko Fusion older $34.99 679 63% 20k $713k (exactly $712,746) 1010 Games
Project Demigod older $19.99 397 69% 12k $238k (exactly $238,081) Omnifarious Studios LLC
MARVEL MaXimum Collection $24.99 111 76% 3.3k $83k (exactly $83,217) Limited Run Games
Taiwan Coolfox $24.99 57 78% 1.7k $43k (exactly $42,733) TSAI,JIE-TING 蔡杰廷, TSAI,KAI-SHIUN 蔡凱勛
Kijutsu Rider $9.99 95 56% 2.9k $28k (exactly $28,472) OmegaMechAnimations
The Phantom $19.99 31 61% 930 $19k (exactly $18,591) Art Of Play Interactive
Basureroes: Invasion $11.99 14 100% 420 $5.0k (exactly $5,036) Javs Game Studios
The Last Scion $5.99 25 84% 750 $4.5k (exactly $4,492) Choice of Games

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