Do I ship it?

Games › Fighting › Fighting + PvE

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Fighting game?

Fighting + PvE

Of 39 developers who shipped a PvE 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.. 61 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 $1.0k, ×0.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300. 61 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper, while revenue is down 100% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 61 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Fighting + PvE
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 39
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $20k → $51k → $1.6k → $1.6k → $987 (still earning) → $179 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Fighting + PvE: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 39
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,834)
Top 5% $29M (exactly $28,779,243)
Developers, 2 yr 39
Released games 139
Announced 61
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 100% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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
PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Fighting, PvE; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, PvP
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 87,555 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $28M.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 6 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Fighting with a different second tag, 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. + HistoricalPoor odds9 devs · median $13k · 16 announced
  8. + CyberpunkPoor odds5 devs · median $9.6k · 18 announced
  9. + Local Co-OpPoor odds41 devs · median $9.4k · 45 announced
  10. + Co-opPoor odds45 devs · median $9.0k · 64 announced
  11. + Hack and SlashPoor odds29 devs · median $8.7k · 60 announced
  12. + AdventurePoor odds44 devs · median $7.2k · 104 announced

All 67 pairs on the Fighting page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

MORDHAU 2019 · $82M DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO 2024 · $76M Undisputed 2024 · $29M Absolver 2017 · $10M BLEACH Rebirth of Souls 2025 · $8.7M
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
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO $49.99 50,395 86% 1.5M $76M (exactly $75,577,382) Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Undisputed $49.99 19,190 60% 576k $29M (exactly $28,779,243) Steel City Interactive
Absolver older $29.99 11,464 74% 344k $10M (exactly $10,314,161) Sloclap
BLEACH Rebirth of Souls $59.99 4,831 68% 145k $8.7M (exactly $8,694,351) TAMSOFT CORPORATION
Rotwood $29.99 7,459 74% 224k $6.7M (exactly $6,710,862) Klei Entertainment
Jujutsu Kaisen Cursed Clash older $59.99 3,051 60% 92k $5.5M (exactly $5,490,885) Byking Inc.
Hellish Quart · EA older $17.99 8,068 88% 242k $4.4M (exactly $4,354,300) Kubold
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate $29.99 4,143 83% 124k $3.7M (exactly $3,727,457) Super Evil Megacorp
ELDERBORN older $14.99 2,229 87% 67k $1.0M (exactly $1,002,381) Hyperstrange
Clone Drone in the Hyperdome $19.99 1,048 91% 31k $628k (exactly $628,486) Doborog Games
Terrordrome - Reign of the Legends $19.99 168 72% 5.0k $101k (exactly $100,750) Huracan Studio
Vincemus - Air Combat $14.99 114 82% 3.4k $51k (exactly $51,266) Virtual Convict
Mayhemers · EA $6.99 154 84% 4.6k $32k (exactly $32,294) Anigtas
Mortal Rite · EA $14.99 53 62% 1.6k $24k (exactly $23,834) Round Toast Studios

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