Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › 2D Fighter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Fighter?

2D Fighter

Of 570 developers who shipped a 2D Fighter 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.. 832 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 326 developers shipped in the last year and 832 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 832 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Fighter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 570
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $359 → $807 → $359 → $480 → $299 → $270 → $359 (still earning) → $89 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Fighter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 570
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,242)
Top 5% $77k (exactly $76,781)
Developers, 2 yr 570
Released games 2,048
Announced 832
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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.

2D Fighter
effort 5 / 10 · low · frame-precise animation and rollback netcode

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
2D Fighter
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 47,334 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 $300, 1 in 4 over $2.2k, 1 in 20 over $76k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 353 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 832 games are announced against 326 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with 2D Fighter

130 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. 2D Fighter + Action Roguelike Dead $180 69 devs
  2. 2D Fighter + Futuristic Dead $180 38 devs
  3. 2D Fighter + Sci-fi Dead $179 62 devs
  4. 2D Fighter + Choices Matter Dead $179 32 devs
  5. 2D Fighter + Card Game Dead $179 12 devs
  6. 2D Fighter + Strategy Dead $150 103 devs
  7. 2D Fighter + Logic Dead $150 16 devs
  8. 2D Fighter + Zombies Dead $150 11 devs
  9. 2D Fighter + Dystopian Dead $148 9 devs
  10. 2D Fighter + Bullet Time Dead $120 16 devs
  11. 2D Fighter + Top-Down Shooter Dead $119 52 devs
  12. 2D Fighter + Score Attack Dead $119 31 devs
  13. 2D Fighter + Level Editor Dead $119 14 devs
  14. Real Time Tactics + 2D Fighter Dead $90 20 devs
  15. Class-Based + 2D Fighter Dead $90 13 devs
  16. 2D Fighter + Military Dead $90 11 devs
  17. 2D Fighter + Crafting Dead $89 16 devs
  18. 2D Fighter + Building Dead $89 9 devs
  19. Survival + 2D Fighter Dead $60 45 devs
  20. 2D Fighter + Tower Defense Dead $60 11 devs
  21. 2D Fighter + Cats Dead $60 7 devs
  22. Vehicular Combat + 2D Fighter Dead $60 6 devs
  23. 2D Fighter + Robots Dead $59 14 devs
  24. 2D Fighter + Space Dead $30 43 devs
  25. 2D Fighter + Mystery Dead $30 12 devs
  26. 2D Fighter + Aliens Dead $0 25 devs
  27. 2D Fighter + Runner Dead $0 15 devs
  28. Racing + 2D Fighter Dead $0 11 devs
  29. 2D Fighter + Supernatural Dead $0 11 devs
  30. Flight + 2D Fighter Dead $0 9 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Mortal Kombat 11 2019 · $131M TEKKEN 7 2017 · $82M Street Fighter™ 6 2023 · $60M GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- 2021 · $57M Mortal Kombat 1 2023 · $51M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mortal Kombat 11 older $49.99 87,021 88% 2.6M $131M (exactly $130,505,394) NetherRealm Studios, QLOC, Shiver
TEKKEN 7 older $39.99 68,063 83% 2.0M $82M (exactly $81,655,181) BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc.
Street Fighter™ 6 older $39.99 49,952 81% 1.5M $60M (exactly $59,927,414) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- older $39.99 47,650 88% 1.4M $57M (exactly $57,165,705) Arc System Works
Mortal Kombat 1 older $49.99 34,197 74% 1.0M $51M (exactly $51,285,241) NetherRealm Studios, QLOC
Rivals of Aether older $29.99 33,284 96% 999k $30M (exactly $29,945,615) Aether Studios
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles older $59.99 16,545 87% 496k $30M (exactly $29,776,036) CyberConnect2
Injustice™ 2 older $49.99 17,445 86% 523k $26M (exactly $26,162,266) NetherRealm Studios, QLOC
Mortal Kombat X older $19.99 39,392 88% 1.2M $24M (exactly $23,623,382) 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.
MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls $59.99 4,934 48% 148k $8.9M (exactly $8,879,720) ARC SYSTEM WORKS CO., LTD
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV $29.99 8,399 83% 252k $7.6M (exactly $7,556,580) SNK CORPORATION
Rivals of Aether II $29.99 6,980 78% 209k $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) Aether Studios
Invincible VS $49.99 3,031 76% 91k $4.5M (exactly $4,545,591) Quarter Up
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game $29.99 3,298 85% 99k $3.0M (exactly $2,967,211) Gameplay Group International
Stick It to the Stickman · EA $11.99 7,918 96% 238k $2.8M (exactly $2,848,105) Free Lives
Path of Kung Fu $14.99 4,880 72% 146k $2.2M (exactly $2,194,536) 游鲤化龙工作室
FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves $19.99 3,135 82% 94k $1.9M (exactly $1,880,059) SNK CORPORATION
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection $49.99 1,214 63% 36k $1.8M (exactly $1,820,636) Digital Eclipse
SiNiSistar 2 $14.99 3,545 90% 106k $1.6M (exactly $1,594,186) Uu

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