Do I ship it?

Games › Action › Action + Asynchronous Multiplayer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Asynchronous Multiplayer Action game?

Action + Asynchronous Multiplayer

Of 62 developers who shipped an Asynchronous Multiplayer Action 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.. 132 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $330, ×0.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 132 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper, while revenue is down 75% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 132 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Asynchronous Multiplayer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 62
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.0k → $713 → $900 → $898 → $16k → $809 → $210 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Asynchronous Multiplayer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 62
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $330 (exactly $330)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,726)
Top 5% $623k (exactly $623,001)
Developers, 2 yr 62
Released games 180
Announced 132
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 75% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Asynchronous Multiplayer
effort 5 / 10 · low · a backend with accounts and persistent turns

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action, Asynchronous Multiplayer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry PvP, Exploration, Online Co-Op
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $23.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Third Person, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $23.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 36,386 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 $330, 1 in 4 over $2.7k, 1 in 20 over $620k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 7 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 132 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair25 devs · median $14k · 30 announced
  3. + PinballFair42 devs · median $2.6k · 48 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair43 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  5. + Football (American)Fair16 devs · median $1.3k · 6 announced
  6. + BaseballFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  7. + BilliardsFair19 devs · median $958 · 25 announced
  8. + IdlerFair225 devs · median $898 · 292 announced
  9. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  11. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  12. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH 2026 · $32M Halloween: The Game 2026 · $14M Rise of the Ronin 2025 · $9.8M The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2023 · $8.9M Deceive Inc. 2023 · $2.9M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH $69.99 15,434 94% 463k $32M (exactly $32,406,770) KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, Nixxes Software
Halloween: The Game $39.99 11,868 68% 356k $14M (exactly $14,238,040) IllFonic
Rise of the Ronin $49.99 6,503 64% 195k $9.8M (exactly $9,752,549) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre older $14.99 19,731 68% 592k $8.9M (exactly $8,873,031) Sumo Digital
Deceive Inc. older $19.99 4,755 84% 143k $2.9M (exactly $2,851,574) Sweet Bandits Studios
Meet Your Maker older $19.99 3,013 73% 90k $1.8M (exactly $1,806,896) Behaviour Interactive Inc.
Euro Fishing older $14.99 1,496 64% 45k $673k (exactly $672,751) Dovetail Games
Demon Tides $24.99 831 96% 25k $623k (exactly $623,001) Fabraz
Wretch: Divine Ascent $14.99 975 75% 29k $438k (exactly $438,458) Ogopogo
GearBlocks · EA older $14.99 759 90% 23k $341k (exactly $341,322) SmashHammer Games
Rocket Boots Mania $14.99 229 99% 6.9k $103k (exactly $102,981) Luma Play
EXOcars $19.99 106 69% 3.2k $64k (exactly $63,568) XOCUS
Paper Animal Adventure · EA $14.99 139 95% 4.2k $63k (exactly $62,508) Cuddling Raccoons Studio
Empyreal $14.99 123 69% 3.7k $55k (exactly $55,313) Silent Games
Hoofobia $6.99 178 68% 5.3k $37k (exactly $37,327) Deathyell Games

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