Should I ship a PvP Wrestling game?
PvP + Wrestling
Only 9 developers shipped a PvP Wrestling 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, WWE 2K25, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 29 more are announced, ×15 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 8 / 10 build.
Only 2 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.5k against a market of $1.5k. 29 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $598 (exactly $598) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) |
| Top 25% | $2.2k (exactly $2,156) |
| Top 5% | $7.4M (exactly $7,393,168) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 9 |
| Released games | 43 |
| Announced | 29 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 70% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 21%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP, Wrestling
- Price point
- $3.99 typical
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 $39.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 9,737 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 2 developers who shipped in the last year, ×15 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | WWE 2K25 | $59.99 | 4,108 73% | 123k | $7.4M (exactly $7,393,168) | Visual Concepts | |
| | AEW: Fight Forever | older | $39.99 | 1,343 59% | 40k | $1.6M (exactly $1,611,197) | YUKE'S |
| | Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage | $19.99 | 1,897 71% | 57k | $1.1M (exactly $1,137,631) | RGG Studio | |
| | Driftland: The Magic Revival | older | $19.99 | 1,439 73% | 43k | $863k (exactly $862,968) | Star Drifters |
| | RetroMania Wrestling | older | $19.99 | 243 80% | 7.3k | $146k (exactly $145,727) | Retrosoft Studios |
| | Checkmate Showdown | older | $19.99 | 192 80% | 5.8k | $115k (exactly $115,142) | BadRez Games |
| | Action Arcade Wrestling | older | $14.99 | 130 75% | 3.9k | $58k (exactly $58,461) | VICO Game Studio |
| | Sumotori Dreams Classic | older | $4.99 | 269 96% | 8.1k | $40k (exactly $40,269) | Peter Soltesz |
| | Casual Pro Wrestling | · EA older | $14.99 | 67 80% | 2.0k | $30k (exactly $30,130) | Patrick Dinklage |
| | Mark Out! The Wrestling Card Game | older | $14.99 | 49 93% | 1.5k | $22k (exactly $22,035) | DIY Experiences LLC |
| | SLOWLY FIGHTER | $5.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $2.2k (exactly $2,156) | Bakumatsu Games | |
| | Brainrot Animals Fighting | $1.99 | 35 71% | 1.1k | $2.1k (exactly $2,090) | River Way Studios | |
| | FINAL FURY | · EA | $4.99 | 10 60% | 300 | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) | Kluge Interactive |
| | Little Fighters on Stream | $3.99 | 9 88% | 270 | $1.1k (exactly $1,077) | TEAM Black Hat Robot | |
| | Wrestling Classics: Olde Timey Pro Wrestling | $3.99 | 5 60% | 150 | $598 (exactly $598) | LunarCore Games | |
| | A Camera Duel! | $3.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $359 (exactly $359) | JamieEng542 | |
| | Wrestling Trivia | $0.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $30 (exactly $30) | LoadUpGames.com |
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.