Should I ship an Action CRPG?
CRPG + Action
Of 88 developers who shipped an Action CRPG 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.. 212 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×1.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $330; 1 in 20 cleared $1.5M, ×1028 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 212 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $327 (exactly $327) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) |
| Top 25% | $20k (exactly $20,441) |
| Top 5% | $1.5M (exactly $1,540,192) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 88 |
| Released games | 381 |
| Announced | 212 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- CRPG, Action; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Action RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Third Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 61,256 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $330. 8 in 10 of the 57 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 212 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
CRPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + IncrementalLong shot
- + FMVPoor odds
- + Card BattlerPoor odds
- + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds
- + SpacePoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
Comparable games
Dragon Age™: The Veilguard 2024 · $74M 
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition 2021 · $51M 
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader 2023 · $51M 
Gujian3(古剑奇谭三) 2018 · $37M 
Sword and Fairy 7 2021 · $14M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dragon Age™: The Veilguard | $59.99 | 41,393 67% | 1.2M | $74M (exactly $74,494,982) | BioWare | |
| | Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition | older | $49.99 | 34,157 83% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $51,225,253) | Owlcat Games |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader | older | $49.99 | 33,701 87% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $50,541,390) | Owlcat Games |
| | Gujian3(古剑奇谭三) | older | $29.99 | 40,829 85% | 1.2M | $37M (exactly $36,733,851) | 上海烛龙信息科技有限公司, Aurogon Shanghai |
| | Sword and Fairy 7 | older | $29.99 | 15,567 72% | 467k | $14M (exactly $14,005,630) | 软星科技(SoftStarlight) |
 | Tyranny | older | $29.99 | 9,877 87% | 296k | $8.9M (exactly $8,886,337) | Obsidian Entertainment |
 | Drova - Forsaken Kin | $24.99 | 9,455 93% | 284k | $7.1M (exactly $7,088,414) | Just2D | |
 | SpellForce 3 Reforced | older | $39.99 | 5,784 76% | 174k | $6.9M (exactly $6,939,065) | Grimlore Games |
 | Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew | older | $39.99 | 5,190 91% | 156k | $6.2M (exactly $6,226,443) | Mimimi Games |
 | Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition | older | $19.99 | 7,859 90% | 236k | $4.7M (exactly $4,713,042) | Beamdog |
 | Guild Wars® Reforged | $19.99 | 3,265 87% | 98k | $2.0M (exactly $1,958,020) | ArenaNet® | |
 | Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms | $34.99 | 1,559 72% | 47k | $1.6M (exactly $1,636,482) | Gamera Interactive | |
 | GreedFall: The Dying World | $49.99 | 1,027 61% | 31k | $1.5M (exactly $1,540,192) | Spiders | |
 | LumenTale: Memories of Trey | $24.99 | 1,130 70% | 34k | $847k (exactly $847,161) | Beehive Studios | |
 | Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection | $39.99 | 657 96% | 20k | $788k (exactly $788,203) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
 | Banquet for Fools | $19.99 | 936 89% | 28k | $561k (exactly $561,319) | Hannah and Joseph Games | |
 | 沙雕之路 | $10.00 | 1,039 96% | 31k | $312k (exactly $311,700) | 馆叔 | |
 | Weird RPG 2 | $9.99 | 795 92% | 24k | $238k (exactly $238,262) | yuzhen |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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