Do I ship it?

Games › Action › Action + Vikings

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Viking Action game?

Action + Vikings

Only 17 developers shipped a Viking Action game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Homura Hime, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 45 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $1.7M, ×2765 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 45 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 45 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Vikings
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.4k → $70k → $42k → $2.0k (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Vikings: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,307)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $27,891)
Top 5% $1.7M (exactly $1,736,305)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 62
Announced 45
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 100% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Vikings
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Bullet Hell, Action RPG, Action Roguelike
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 3,240 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $1.7M.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action with a different setting or mood, 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

Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2022 · $74M Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga 2024 · $14M Tribes of Midgard 2021 · $10M A Total War Saga: THRONES OF BRITANNIA 2018 · $7.4M Ancestors Legacy 2018 · $6.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Assassin's Creed Valhalla older $59.99 41,083 70% 1.2M $74M (exactly $73,937,075) Ubisoft Montreal
Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga older $49.99 9,381 86% 281k $14M (exactly $14,068,686) Ninja Theory
Tribes of Midgard older $19.99 17,465 76% 524k $10M (exactly $10,473,760) Norsfell
A Total War Saga: THRONES OF BRITANNIA older $19.99 12,326 70% 370k $7.4M (exactly $7,391,902) CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (M… (CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux))
Ancestors Legacy older $34.99 5,794 80% 174k $6.1M (exactly $6,081,962) Destructive Creations
Vikings - Wolves of Midgard older $29.99 2,808 58% 84k $2.5M (exactly $2,526,358) Games Farm
Ragnarock older $24.99 2,775 94% 83k $2.1M (exactly $2,080,417) WanadevStudio
Homura Hime $24.99 2,316 90% 69k $1.7M (exactly $1,736,305) Crimson Dusk
Jotun: Valhalla Edition older $14.99 2,215 77% 66k $996k (exactly $996,086) Thunder Lotus
Apsulov: End of Gods older $19.99 1,509 86% 45k $905k (exactly $904,947) Angry Demon Studio
Viking Frontiers $19.99 537 51% 16k $322k (exactly $322,039) BLUM Entertainment
Odinfall · EA $12.99 194 82% 5.8k $76k (exactly $75,602) Ember Paw Games
Vilde $15.99 87 74% 2.6k $42k (exactly $41,734) Chaotic Minds
Tales Of Glory 4 : Ragnarok · EA $29.99 31 83% 930 $28k (exactly $27,891) BlackTale Games
Ashen Arrows $17.99 10 90% 300 $5.4k (exactly $5,397) Rusty Pipes Games
North Hunt $6.50 24 75% 720 $4.7k (exactly $4,680) NewGen
Regnum Idle $4.99 19 63% 570 $2.8k (exactly $2,844) Vexos Games
Grendel's Cave $6.99 11 100% 330 $2.3k (exactly $2,307) Grendel Enterprises, L.L.C.
The Last Nordic Tribe $5.99 11 90% 330 $2.0k (exactly $1,977) Never Say Never

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