Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Action RTS

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Action RTS Action RPG?

Action RPG + Action RTS

Of 43 developers who shipped an Action RTS Action RPG 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.. 71 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $270, ×0.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 71 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper, while revenue is up 495% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 495% on the market, 71 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Action RTS
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 43
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $539 → $3.1k → $628 → $30 → $210 → $1.9k (still earning) → $32k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Action RTS: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $270 (exactly $270)
Top 25% $4.0k (exactly $4,042)
Top 5% $340k (exactly $340,030)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 112
Announced 71
Effort 7 / 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 up 495% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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 RPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Action RTS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Action RPG, Action RTS; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, RPG
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 5,111 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 $270, 1 in 4 over $4.0k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 71 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + NavalFair17 devs · median $15k · 11 announced
  2. + Local Co-OpFair68 devs · median $6.0k · 82 announced
  3. + WesternFair13 devs · median $5.5k · 15 announced
  4. + Local MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $5.5k · 56 announced
  5. + Walking SimulatorLong shot35 devs · median $450 · 33 announced
  6. + WuxiaPoor odds7 devs · median $198k · 28 announced
  7. + Character Action GamePoor odds14 devs · median $105k · 55 announced
  8. + MechsPoor odds21 devs · median $59k · 43 announced
  9. + Colony SimPoor odds11 devs · median $58k · 35 announced
  10. + Dating SimPoor odds31 devs · median $44k · 47 announced
  11. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds23 devs · median $26k · 69 announced
  12. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds77 devs · median $25k · 91 announced

All 211 pairs on the Action RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY 2025 · $1.9M ZeroSpace 2026 · EA · $1.4M Machine Mind 2026 · $340k Fate Seeker: Journey 2022 · $332k Rise of Piracy 2026 · EA · $249k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY $29.99 2,091 83% 63k $1.9M (exactly $1,881,273) SAS CO.,LTD.
ZeroSpace · EA $39.99 1,161 78% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852) Starlance Studios, Ironward
Machine Mind $19.99 567 71% 17k $340k (exactly $340,030) Chudo-Yudo Games
Fate Seeker: Journey older $10.00 1,105 77% 33k $332k (exactly $331,500) JSL Entertainment
Rise of Piracy · EA $15.99 520 77% 16k $249k (exactly $249,444) IrishJohnGames
Undead Horde 2: Necropolis older $16.99 447 83% 13k $228k (exactly $227,836) 10tons Ltd
Philna Fantasy $14.99 477 52% 14k $215k (exactly $214,507) Sailike Game
TrinityS older $14.99 182 69% 5.5k $82k (exactly $81,845) Indie-us Games
Prime & Load : 1776 older $7.99 313 76% 9.4k $75k (exactly $75,026) Radio Silence Entertainment
Twelves:Shadow $12.99 154 35% 4.6k $60k (exactly $60,014) JuLu Studio
WARSHIFT 2 $19.99 54 70% 1.6k $32k (exactly $32,384) Cyril Megem
Deadrock Salvation $9.99 38 86% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) Ghost Machine
Foresia -The Lust Curse- $14.99 15 33% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) BlusterD
Sunstone War $4.99 34 97% 1.0k $5.1k (exactly $5,090) Blukulélé, Cyrolis Dev

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