Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

2D + Beat 'em up: a typical launch earns $789 in its first year

That is the median of 64 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 6 of 115 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 6.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 4% on the year before: 69 against 72.

China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese
One game dominates the figure

Price: $789
Price vs a year earlier: +56.2%
Releases, 12 months: 69
Upcoming games: 219
Games on the store: 679

Boards

as of 30 Sep 2026

Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.

2D + Beat 'em up on each board
Board	Value	Interval	Sample	Standing
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it.	0.10%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.06% to 0.13%	25 ranked of 219 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#1,786 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	0.92xhits against expected	0.63x to 1.45x	115 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#6,127 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period.
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window.

Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.

Launch success

launches 6 to 30 months old

Matured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.

Hits: 6
Expected: 6.8

Launches: 115
Hit rate: 5.2%0.9% to 8.3%
Expected rate: 5.9%
Against expected: 0.92x0.63x to 1.45x

Launch window: indie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old). Hit odds are shrunk toward the Steam-wide rate by 3 expected hits.

Revenue spread

115 launches

Estimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.

Bottom tenth: $0
Median: $505
Top tenth: $32,732

Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.

Supply

raw release counts

Games released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.

Last 12 months: 69
Prior 12 months: 72

Change: −4%

Parent tags

2DNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
Beat 'em upGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.

Comparable games

8 indie titles

The biggest indie games in this pair by estimated lifetime gross. Revenue is shown as a number at 50 or more reviews, as a range at 10 to 49, and not at all below 10.

More with 2D

pairs with 2D

2D + Roguelike Deckbuilder$6,77234 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
2D + Romance$3,28176 launches priced, 110 releases in 12 months
War + 2D$3,16035 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
2D + Dating Sim$2,55991 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
2D + LGBTQ+$2,46550 launches priced, 85 releases in 12 months
2D + Historical$2,32474 launches priced, 130 releases in 12 months

Every pair with 2D

Related niches

pairs with Beat 'em up

Beat 'em up + Action Roguelike$1,49632 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
Pixel Graphics + Beat 'em up$82946 launches priced, 36 releases in 12 months
Side Scroller + Beat 'em up$81039 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
Combat + Beat 'em up$80933 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
Beat 'em up + Action RPG$60730 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
Hack and Slash + Beat 'em up$56645 launches priced, 84 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Beat 'em up

Verdicts

in development

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