Do I ship it?

Games › CRPG › CRPG + Action-Adventure

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Action-Adventure CRPG?

CRPG + Action-Adventure

Of 74 developers who shipped an Action-Adventure 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.. 172 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $720, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180. 172 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper, while revenue is up 35% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 172 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
CRPG + Action-Adventure
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 74
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $0 → $713 → $2.2k → $1.5k → $2.4k → $1.8k → $1.6k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for CRPG + Action-Adventure: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 74
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $19,780)
Top 5% $847k (exactly $847,161)
Developers, 2 yr 74
Released games 266
Announced 172
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 35% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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.

CRPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Action-Adventure
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
CRPG, Action-Adventure; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Action RPG
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Story Rich, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 16,258 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $720, 1 in 4 over $19k, 1 in 20 over $840k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 50 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 172 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $26k · 14 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair84 devs · median $2.4k · 95 announced
  3. + TabletopFair22 devs · median $1.9k · 26 announced
  4. + Traditional RoguelikeFair12 devs · median $1.9k · 13 announced
  5. + 2D PlatformerFair62 devs · median $1.2k · 76 announced
  6. + IncrementalLong shot32 devs · median $449 · 27 announced
  7. + FMVPoor odds16 devs · median $58k · 14 announced
  8. + Card BattlerPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 28 announced
  9. + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds26 devs · median $23k · 46 announced
  10. + SpacePoor odds11 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds13 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  12. + Souls-likePoor odds12 devs · median $20k · 24 announced

All 123 pairs on the CRPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition 2013 · $9.2M Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition 2013 · $5.7M Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition 2018 · $4.7M ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies 2026 · $3.5M Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition 2017 · $2.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition older $19.99 15,395 92% 462k $9.2M (exactly $9,232,382) Beamdog
Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition older $19.99 9,478 92% 284k $5.7M (exactly $5,683,957) Beamdog
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition older $19.99 7,859 90% 236k $4.7M (exactly $4,713,042) Beamdog
ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies $39.99 2,911 83% 87k $3.5M (exactly $3,492,327) ZA/UM
Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition older $19.99 4,735 94% 142k $2.8M (exactly $2,839,580) Beamdog
Threefold Recital $14.99 5,117 98% 154k $2.3M (exactly $2,301,115) Everscape Games
Chinese Online Game older $9.99 6,610 82% 198k $2.0M (exactly $1,981,017) 648工作室
Guild Wars® Reforged $19.99 3,265 87% 98k $2.0M (exactly $1,958,020) ArenaNet®
Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition older $19.99 3,107 91% 93k $1.9M (exactly $1,863,268) Beamdog
LumenTale: Memories of Trey $24.99 1,130 70% 34k $847k (exactly $847,161) Beehive Studios
Banquet for Fools $19.99 936 89% 28k $561k (exactly $561,319) Hannah and Joseph Games
Happy Island Fantasy $14.99 1,186 88% 36k $533k (exactly $533,344) HappyCreator
Weird RPG 2 $9.99 795 92% 24k $238k (exactly $238,262) yuzhen
Ancient Kingdoms · EA $15.99 473 86% 14k $227k (exactly $226,898) Ancient Pixels
Cralon $19.99 192 71% 5.8k $115k (exactly $115,142) Pithead Studio
Border Town $14.99 253 77% 7.6k $114k (exactly $113,774) GoHoGames

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