Do I ship it?

GamesFightingFighting + Historical

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Historical Fighting game?

Fighting + Historical

Only 9 developers shipped a Historical Fighting 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, Half Sword, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 16 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $13k, ×8.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $21M, ×14341 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 16 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 16 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Fighting + Historical
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Fighting + Historical: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Median $13k (exactly $12,579)
Top 25% $268k (exactly $268,066)
Top 5% $21M (exactly $21,483,403)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 38
Announced 16
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 down 95% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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.

Fighting
effort 7 / 10 · low · frame data, hitboxes and rollback netcode
Historical
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Fighting
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 152,596 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $13k, 1 in 4 over $260k, 1 in 20 over $21M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 16 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Fighting with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SandboxStrong odds11 devs · median $76k · 8 announced
  2. + Score AttackLong shot13 devs · median $599 · 11 announced
  3. + Open WorldPoor odds12 devs · median $117k · 26 announced
  4. + Dark FantasyPoor odds11 devs · median $56k · 23 announced
  5. + Souls-likePoor odds8 devs · median $24k · 20 announced
  6. + SwordplayPoor odds13 devs · median $13k · 33 announced
  7. + CyberpunkPoor odds5 devs · median $9.6k · 18 announced
  8. + Local Co-OpPoor odds41 devs · median $9.4k · 45 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds45 devs · median $9.0k · 64 announced
  10. + Hack and SlashPoor odds29 devs · median $8.7k · 60 announced
  11. + AdventurePoor odds44 devs · median $7.2k · 104 announced
  12. + Spectacle fighterPoor odds25 devs · median $7.2k · 40 announced

All 67 pairs on the Fighting page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
MORDHAU older $29.99 91,678 80% 2.8M $82M (exactly $82,482,697) Triternion
Half Sword · EA $24.99 28,656 71% 860k $21M (exactly $21,483,403) Half Sword Games
DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition older $49.99 11,886 83% 357k $18M (exactly $17,825,434) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Hellish Quart · EA older $17.99 8,068 88% 242k $4.4M (exactly $4,354,300) Kubold
Sid Meier's Pirates! older $9.99 6,198 94% 186k $1.9M (exactly $1,857,541) Firaxis Games
Grand Ages: Medieval older $19.99 1,565 47% 47k $939k (exactly $938,530) Gaming Minds Studios
Gladio Mori $15.99 1,147 82% 34k $550k (exactly $550,216) Plebeian Studio
First Cut: Samurai Duel older $8.99 1,986 88% 60k $536k (exactly $535,624) Night Eyes Interactive
SAMURAI SHODOWN NEOGEO COLLECTION older $39.99 370 81% 11k $444k (exactly $443,889) DIGITAL ECLIPSE
Tales Of Glory older $10.99 1,042 80% 31k $344k (exactly $343,547) BlackTale Games
Ertugrul of Ulukayin · EA $19.99 447 84% 13k $268k (exactly $268,066) Tekden Studio
Two Strikes $14.99 256 89% 7.7k $115k (exactly $115,123) Retro Reactor
1953: NATO vs Warsaw Pact $5.99 70 41% 2.1k $13k (exactly $12,579) Wastelands Interactive
Sim: Heavyweight Boxing Champion $9.99 15 93% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Jfsimgames
Parable Academy $9.99 4 100% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) Snuffysam Media
水浒群侠传 $4.99 5 80% 150 $748 (exactly $748) 曾经惨遭锁区
Wrestling Classics: Olde Timey Pro Wrestling $3.99 5 60% 150 $598 (exactly $598) LunarCore Games

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