Games › Fighting › Fighting + Local Co-Op
Should I ship a Local Co-Op Fighting game?
Fighting + Local Co-Op
Of 41 developers who shipped a Local Co-Op Fighting 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.. 45 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.4k, ×6.3 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $6.7M, ×4480 the market median. Revenue is up 75% on the market; 45 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.3k (exactly $1,348) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.4k (exactly $9,444) |
| Top 25% | $45k (exactly $44,978) |
| Top 5% | $6.7M (exactly $6,710,862) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 41 |
| Released games | 202 |
| Announced | 45 |
| 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 up 75% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Local Co-Op
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Fighting, Local Co-Op; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Action, Beat 'em up
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, Retro, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 29,108 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 7 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Fighting with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SandboxStrong odds
- + Score AttackLong shot
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + Dark FantasyPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + SwordplayPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + CyberpunkPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Hack and SlashPoor odds
- + AdventurePoor odds
- + Spectacle fighterPoor odds
Comparable games
Mortal Kombat 1 2023 · $51M 
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4 2016 · $43M 
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2015 · $34M 
Party Animals 2023 · $34M 
Gang Beasts 2017 · $33M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mortal Kombat 1 | older | $49.99 | 34,197 74% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $51,285,241) | NetherRealm Studios, QLOC |
| | NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4 | older | $19.99 | 72,409 90% | 2.2M | $43M (exactly $43,423,677) | CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd. |
| | DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE | older | $64.98 | 17,554 89% | 527k | $34M (exactly $34,219,768) | DIMPS |
| | Party Animals | older | $19.99 | 56,043 81% | 1.7M | $34M (exactly $33,608,987) | Recreate Games |
| | Gang Beasts | older | $19.99 | 54,880 85% | 1.6M | $33M (exactly $32,911,536) | Boneloaf, Rocket Science |
 | Rivals of Aether | older | $29.99 | 33,284 96% | 999k | $30M (exactly $29,945,615) | Aether Studios |
 | Injustice™ 2 | older | $49.99 | 17,445 86% | 523k | $26M (exactly $26,162,266) | NetherRealm Studios, QLOC |
 | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R | older | $49.99 | 14,344 91% | 430k | $22M (exactly $21,511,697) | CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd. |
 | ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 4 | older | $39.99 | 17,281 91% | 518k | $21M (exactly $20,732,016) | Koei Tecmo |
 | DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition | older | $49.99 | 11,886 83% | 357k | $18M (exactly $17,825,434) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
 | WWE 2K25 | $59.99 | 4,108 73% | 123k | $7.4M (exactly $7,393,168) | Visual Concepts | |
 | Absolum | $24.99 | 9,399 91% | 282k | $7.0M (exactly $7,046,430) | Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, Supamonks | |
 | Rotwood | $29.99 | 7,459 74% | 224k | $6.7M (exactly $6,710,862) | Klei Entertainment | |
 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate | $29.99 | 4,143 83% | 124k | $3.7M (exactly $3,727,457) | Super Evil Megacorp | |
 | Capcom Fighting Collection 2 | $39.99 | 734 85% | 22k | $881k (exactly $880,580) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
 | A Few Quick Matches | $6.99 | 2,475 85% | 74k | $519k (exactly $519,008) | Studio Bidou | |
 | Scott Pilgrim EX | $28.99 | 471 85% | 14k | $410k (exactly $409,629) | Tribute Games Inc. | |
 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed | $39.99 | 114 50% | 3.4k | $137k (exactly $136,766) | AHEARTFULOFGAMES | |
 | G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra | $24.99 | 121 56% | 3.6k | $91k (exactly $90,714) | indie.io | |
 | Fighting Force Collection | $19.99 | 84 80% | 2.5k | $50k (exactly $50,375) | Implicit Conversions |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.