Do I ship it?

Games › Spectacle fighter › Spectacle fighter + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Spectacle fighter?

Spectacle fighter + Puzzle

Only 14 developers shipped a Puzzle Spectacle fighter 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, Outrider Mako, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 12 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 6 developers shipped in the last year and 12 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 12 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Spectacle fighter + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $33k → $1.1k → $210 → $270 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Spectacle fighter + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $270 (exactly $270)
Top 25% $1.1k (exactly $1,077)
Top 5% $65k (exactly $65,304)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 39
Announced 12
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 55% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Spectacle fighter
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Spectacle fighter, Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 2D Fighter, Action-Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 9 games average 70% positive over 171 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $270, 1 in 4 over $1.0k, 1 in 20 over $65k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 12 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Spectacle fighter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Score AttackFair31 devs · median $4.3k · 29 announced
  2. + HorrorFair14 devs · median $3.7k · 16 announced
  3. + LootPoor odds9 devs · median $65k · 11 announced
  4. + Character Action GamePoor odds22 devs · median $58k · 44 announced
  5. + Survival HorrorPoor odds8 devs · median $52k · 12 announced
  6. + HistoricalPoor odds16 devs · median $33k · 17 announced
  7. + Sci-fiPoor odds48 devs · median $17k · 82 announced
  8. + RobotsPoor odds15 devs · median $16k · 35 announced
  9. + MythologyPoor odds16 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  10. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds45 devs · median $7.2k · 86 announced
  11. + FightingPoor odds25 devs · median $7.2k · 40 announced
  12. + Hack and SlashPoor odds77 devs · median $6.7k · 142 announced

All 99 pairs on the Spectacle fighter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition 2015 · $15M The Divine Invasion 2021 · $310k Outrider Mako 2025 · $65k Happy Souls 2024 · $44k Noreya: The Gold Project 2024 · $33k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition older $29.99 16,313 78% 489k $15M (exactly $14,676,806) Gunfire Games, Vigil Games, THQ Nordic
The Divine Invasion older $14.99 690 79% 21k $310k (exactly $310,293) Whale Rock Games
Outrider Mako $17.99 121 65% 3.6k $65k (exactly $65,304) Asamado Games
Happy Souls older $39.99 37 75% 1.1k $44k (exactly $44,389) Galactic Geckon
Noreya: The Gold Project older $9.99 110 78% 3.3k $33k (exactly $32,967) Dreamirl
They Came From Below older $24.99 17 58% 510 $13k (exactly $12,745) Piece Of Voxel
Rinlo older $14.99 25 84% 750 $11k (exactly $11,242) GuraShop
CORGI older $4.99 32 75% 960 $4.8k (exactly $4,790) RealGame
Hammer of Pain $10.99 10 80% 300 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) SleepingFrog
ホロポップ older $3.99 27 100% 810 $3.2k (exactly $3,232) HappyHoppyHappy
Horror Night with Tung Tung Tung Sahur $7.99 13 100% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) Source Byte, Nikodem Świder
Little Fighters on Stream $3.99 9 88% 270 $1.1k (exactly $1,077) TEAM Black Hat Robot
Rushfall $2.99 8 62% 240 $718 (exactly $718) kazakovstudios, Sharkgame
PROJECT: OJISAN $1.99 5 100% 150 $298 (exactly $298) MUC GAMES
Devastablance. Mountain Brotherhood $3.00 3 100% 90 $270 (exactly $270) Shvap Games Studio
Apocalypse of the Universe $6.99 1 0% 30 $210 (exactly $210) v.a.c.u.u.m.
Soldiers vs Zombies: Tower Defense · EA $5.99 1 0% 30 $180 (exactly $180) Hard Shark Games
FISTAGON $10.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Virtual Dawn

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