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Should I ship a Martial-Arts PvE game?
PvE + Martial Arts
Of 43 developers who shipped a Martial-Arts PvE 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.. 83 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 26 developers shipped in the last year and 83 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $449 (exactly $449) |
| Top 25% | $6.6k (exactly $6,594) |
| Top 5% | $194k (exactly $194,303) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 43 |
| Released games | 121 |
| Announced | 83 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 10% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- PvE
- effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
- Martial Arts
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- PvE; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, 2D Fighter
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Anime, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 63,753 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 83 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + TypingFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + HeistPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + SpaceshipsPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
Comparable games
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO 2024 · $76M 
Absolver 2017 · $10M 
Dead as Disco 2026 · EA · $9.3M 
Hellish Quart 2021 · EA · $4.4M 
First Cut: Samurai Duel 2024 · $536k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO | $49.99 | 50,395 86% | 1.5M | $76M (exactly $75,577,382) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. | |
| | Absolver | older | $29.99 | 11,464 74% | 344k | $10M (exactly $10,314,161) | Sloclap |
| | Dead as Disco | · EA | $24.99 | 12,354 96% | 371k | $9.3M (exactly $9,261,794) | Brain Jar Games, Inc. |
| | Hellish Quart | · EA older | $17.99 | 8,068 88% | 242k | $4.4M (exactly $4,354,300) | Kubold |
| | First Cut: Samurai Duel | older | $8.99 | 1,986 88% | 60k | $536k (exactly $535,624) | Night Eyes Interactive |
 | BoneTown: The Second Coming Edition | older | $19.99 | 770 84% | 23k | $462k (exactly $461,769) | D-Dub Software |
 | Project Demigod | older | $19.99 | 397 69% | 12k | $238k (exactly $238,081) | Omnifarious Studios LLC |
 | Ascend From Nine Mountains | · EA | $19.99 | 324 92% | 9.7k | $194k (exactly $194,303) | Nine Ascension Studios |
 | Double Dragon Revive | $34.99 | 157 63% | 4.7k | $165k (exactly $164,803) | YUKE’S | |
 | Tactic Boxing | older | $9.99 | 416 77% | 12k | $125k (exactly $124,675) | Stately Eagle Games |
 | Terrordrome - Reign of the Legends | $19.99 | 168 72% | 5.0k | $101k (exactly $100,750) | Huracan Studio | |
 | IGS Classic Arcade Collection | $29.99 | 94 60% | 2.8k | $85k (exactly $84,572) | IGS(台灣鈊象電子) | |
 | Yomi 2 | $19.99 | 104 92% | 3.1k | $62k (exactly $62,369) | Sirlin Games | |
 | FIGHTING GIRL YURI | $29.99 | 31 54% | 930 | $28k (exactly $27,891) | UMAI NEKO | |
 | Heritage | $9.99 | 44 72% | 1.3k | $13k (exactly $13,187) | Big Three Games | |
 | Idle Xanxia | · EA | $3.99 | 82 81% | 2.5k | $9.8k (exactly $9,815) | Cezae |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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