Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Beat 'em up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up

Of 582 developers who shipped a Beat 'em up 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.. 1,000 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×529 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 1,000 games are announced against 300 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 1,000 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 582
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $657 → $1.9k → $1.2k → $839 → $479 → $1.0k → $599 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 582
Bottom 30% $148 (exactly $148)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $7.5k (exactly $7,492)
Top 5% $251k (exactly $251,149)
Developers, 2 yr 582
Released games 2,250
Announced 1,000
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 10% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Beat 'em up
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Beat 'em up
Price point
$6.99 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 $6.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 93,353 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $600, 1 in 4 over $7.4k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 356 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,000 games are announced against 300 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Beat 'em up

91 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Beat 'em up + Rhythm Fair $4.5k 17 devs
  2. Beat 'em up + Collectathon Fair $1.2k 25 devs
  3. Beat 'em up + Score Attack Fair $539 36 devs
  4. Beat 'em up + Incremental Fair $537 11 devs
  5. Beat 'em up + Tower Defense Fair $416 14 devs
  6. Combat Racing + Beat 'em up Long shot $89 15 devs
  7. Character Action Game + Beat 'em up Poor odds $58k 12 devs
  8. Loot + Beat 'em up Poor odds $13k 20 devs
  9. Co-op + Beat 'em up Poor odds $11k 74 devs
  10. Online Co-Op + Beat 'em up Poor odds $11k 45 devs
  11. Beat 'em up + Local Co-Op Poor odds $9.0k 68 devs
  12. 4 Player Local + Beat 'em up Poor odds $8.7k 30 devs
  13. Fighting + Beat 'em up Poor odds $5.0k 55 devs
  14. Bullet Time + Beat 'em up Poor odds $4.7k 11 devs
  15. Destruction + Beat 'em up Poor odds $3.6k 22 devs
  16. Spectacle fighter + Beat 'em up Poor odds $3.3k 57 devs
  17. Beat 'em up + Dungeon Crawler Poor odds $2.5k 36 devs
  18. Beat 'em up + Procedural Generation Poor odds $2.2k 16 devs
  19. Sports + Beat 'em up Poor odds $1.9k 34 devs
  20. Beat 'em up + Roguelite Poor odds $1.9k 83 devs
  21. Beat 'em up + Roguelike Poor odds $1.9k 78 devs
  22. JRPG + Beat 'em up Poor odds $1.9k 13 devs
  23. Souls-like + Beat 'em up Poor odds $1.8k 36 devs
  24. Beat 'em up + Metroidvania Poor odds $1.8k 19 devs
  25. Beat 'em up + Precision Platformer Poor odds $1.8k 12 devs
  26. Beat 'em up + Local Multiplayer Poor odds $1.8k 67 devs
  27. Action RPG + Beat 'em up Poor odds $1.8k 94 devs
  28. Swordplay + Beat 'em up Poor odds $1.4k 31 devs
  29. Stealth + Beat 'em up Poor odds $1.4k 14 devs
  30. RPG + Beat 'em up Poor odds $1.3k 109 devs
  31. Sandbox + Beat 'em up Poor odds $959 23 devs
  32. Beat 'em up + Exploration Poor odds $899 73 devs
  33. Character Customization + Beat 'em up Poor odds $899 69 devs
  34. Open World + Beat 'em up Poor odds $899 31 devs
  35. Adventure + Beat 'em up Poor odds $839 240 devs
  36. Hack and Slash + Beat 'em up Poor odds $839 190 devs
  37. Beat 'em up + Platformer Poor odds $839 82 devs
  38. Action Roguelike + Beat 'em up Poor odds $836 115 devs
  39. Beat 'em up + Arcade Poor odds $748 230 devs
  40. Action-Adventure + Beat 'em up Poor odds $748 191 devs
  41. Beat 'em up + 2D Platformer Poor odds $748 110 devs
  42. Beat 'em up + Multiple Endings Poor odds $748 17 devs
  43. Co-op Campaign + Beat 'em up Poor odds $600 19 devs
  44. Action + Beat 'em up Poor odds $599 545 devs
  45. Physics + Beat 'em up Poor odds $599 56 devs
  46. Third-Person Shooter + Beat 'em up Poor odds $599 28 devs
  47. Wrestling + Beat 'em up Poor odds $539 7 devs
  48. Hero Shooter + Beat 'em up Poor odds $478 18 devs
  49. Combat + Beat 'em up Poor odds $419 304 devs
  50. PvP + Beat 'em up Poor odds $419 81 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

TEKKEN 7 2017 · $82M Batman™: Arkham Knight 2015 · $67M METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE 2014 · $62M Marvel's Spider-Man 2 2025 · $60M Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales 2022 · $59M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
TEKKEN 7 older $39.99 68,063 83% 2.0M $82M (exactly $81,655,181) BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc.
Batman™: Arkham Knight older $19.99 111,190 92% 3.3M $67M (exactly $66,680,643) Rocksteady Studios
METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE older $29.99 69,104 96% 2.1M $62M (exactly $62,172,869) PlatinumGames
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 $59.99 33,433 83% 1.0M $60M (exactly $60,169,370) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales older $49.99 39,234 93% 1.2M $59M (exactly $58,839,230) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Castle Crashers® older $14.99 109,654 96% 3.3M $49M (exactly $49,311,404) The Behemoth
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4 older $19.99 72,409 90% 2.2M $43M (exactly $43,423,677) CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd.
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition older $19.99 70,499 94% 2.1M $42M (exactly $42,278,250) United Front Games, Feral Interactive (… (United Front Games, Feral Interactive (Mac))
Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition older $19.99 62,057 96% 1.9M $37M (exactly $37,215,583) Rocksteady Studios
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth older $69.99 16,339 90% 490k $34M (exactly $34,306,998) RGG Studio
Dead as Disco · EA $24.99 12,354 96% 371k $9.3M (exactly $9,261,794) Brain Jar Games, Inc.
Absolum $24.99 9,399 91% 282k $7.0M (exactly $7,046,430) Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, Supamonks
Rotwood $29.99 7,459 74% 224k $6.7M (exactly $6,710,862) Klei Entertainment
Lost Castle 2 $17.99 10,851 78% 326k $5.9M (exactly $5,856,285) Hunter Studio
Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties $59.99 2,229 62% 67k $4.0M (exactly $4,011,531) RGG Studio
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion $69.99 1,838 63% 55k $3.9M (exactly $3,859,249) Marvelous Inc.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate $29.99 4,143 83% 124k $3.7M (exactly $3,727,457) Super Evil Megacorp
Stick It to the Stickman · EA $11.99 7,918 96% 238k $2.8M (exactly $2,848,105) Free Lives
M.A.S.S. Builder $24.99 3,729 85% 112k $2.8M (exactly $2,795,631) Vermillion Digital

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