Should I ship a 2.5D game?
2.5D
Of 1,195 developers who shipped a 2.5D 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.. 2,504 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $840, ×1.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $410k, ×875 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 2,504 games are announced against 700 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $838 (exactly $838) |
| Top 25% | $7.8k (exactly $7,792) |
| Top 5% | $416k (exactly $415,684) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 1,195 |
| Released games | 3,817 |
| Announced | 2,504 |
| 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 up 15% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- 2.5D
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 122,468 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 694 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 2,504 games are announced against 700 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
All pairs with 2.5D
No pair with 2.5D has 25 games yet.
Comparable games
Mortal Kombat 11 2019 · $131M 
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO 2024 · $76M 
GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- 2021 · $57M 
INSIDE 2016 · $52M 
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 |
| | DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO | $49.99 | 50,395 86% | 1.5M | $76M (exactly $75,577,382) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. | |
| | GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- | older | $39.99 | 47,650 88% | 1.4M | $57M (exactly $57,165,705) | Arc System Works |
| | INSIDE | older | $24.99 | 69,791 97% | 2.1M | $52M (exactly $52,322,313) | Playdead |
| | Mortal Kombat 1 | older | $49.99 | 34,197 74% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $51,285,241) | NetherRealm Studios, QLOC |
 | This War of Mine | older | $19.99 | 81,804 93% | 2.5M | $49M (exactly $49,057,859) | 11 bit studios |
 | Little Nightmares II | older | $29.99 | 50,280 92% | 1.5M | $45M (exactly $45,236,916) | Tarsier Studios |
 | Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition | older | $19.99 | 62,690 94% | 1.9M | $38M (exactly $37,595,193) | Moon Studios GmbH |
 | Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | older | $39.99 | 29,588 93% | 888k | $35M (exactly $35,496,724) | ArtPlay |
 | Little Nightmares | older | $19.99 | 52,184 94% | 1.6M | $31M (exactly $31,294,745) | Tarsier Studios |
 | Little Nightmares III | $39.99 | 10,165 46% | 305k | $12M (exactly $12,194,950) | Supermassive Games | |
 | 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 | |
 | DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake | $59.99 | 4,010 75% | 120k | $7.2M (exactly $7,216,797) | Square Enix, ARTDINK | |
 | Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days | · EA | $24.99 | 9,049 89% | 271k | $6.8M (exactly $6,784,035) | PikPok |
 | Rivals of Aether II | $29.99 | 6,980 78% | 209k | $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) | Aether Studios | |
 | Back to the Dawn | $23.99 | 8,555 94% | 257k | $6.2M (exactly $6,157,034) | Metal Head Games | |
 | Lost Castle 2 | $17.99 | 10,851 78% | 326k | $5.9M (exactly $5,856,285) | Hunter Studio | |
 | REPLACED | $19.99 | 9,130 84% | 274k | $5.5M (exactly $5,475,261) | Sad Cat Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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