Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Arena Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Arena Shooter Action RPG?

Action RPG + Arena Shooter

Of 64 developers who shipped an Arena Shooter 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.. 89 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 $630, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 89 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper, while revenue is down 75% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 89 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Arena Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 64
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $356 → $3.2k → $1.1k → $2.4k → $3.9k → $299 → $297 (still earning) → $3.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Arena Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 64
Bottom 30% $148 (exactly $148)
Median $629 (exactly $629)
Top 25% $7.9k (exactly $7,917)
Top 5% $123k (exactly $123,094)
Developers, 2 yr 64
Released games 210
Announced 89
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Arena Shooter
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
Action RPG, Arena Shooter; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.50 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.50 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 7,023 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $630, 1 in 4 over $7.9k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 48 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 89 games are announced against 25 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

Nova Drift 2024 · $7.0M Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok 2024 · $1.9M God Of Weapons 2023 · $864k Arms of God 2026 · EA · $645k Alien Shooter 2009 · $587k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Nova Drift older $17.99 12,975 95% 389k $7.0M (exactly $7,002,607) Chimeric
Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok older $9.99 6,180 88% 185k $1.9M (exactly $1,852,146) Noxfall Studios
God Of Weapons older $5.99 4,807 84% 144k $864k (exactly $863,818) Imagine Games
Arms of God · EA $11.50 1,871 88% 56k $645k (exactly $645,495) Dark Jay Studio
Alien Shooter older $4.99 3,919 95% 118k $587k (exactly $586,674) Sigma Team Inc.
Bounty of One older $6.99 2,749 88% 82k $576k (exactly $576,465) OptizOnion
Fashion Police Squad older $19.99 872 90% 26k $523k (exactly $522,938) Mopeful Games
Alien Shooter 2 - The Legend older $14.99 1,087 52% 33k $489k (exactly $488,824) Sigma Team Inc.
FatalZone $6.99 2,125 66% 64k $446k (exactly $445,612) Midhard Games
Time Wasters older $4.99 2,549 88% 76k $382k (exactly $381,585) Proton Studio
Funguys Swarm $9.99 1,114 89% 33k $334k (exactly $333,866) Stairway Games
Astroloot · EA $6.99 587 92% 18k $123k (exactly $123,094) Andreas Hager Gaming
Shape Shifter: Formations $14.99 269 91% 8.1k $121k (exactly $120,969) Castec Studios
Beyond Sunset $9.99 297 77% 8.9k $89k (exactly $89,011) Metacorp / Vaporware
Blood Rush · EA $14.49 161 98% 4.8k $70k (exactly $69,987) MaxEstLa
W.A.N.D. Project $9.99 172 68% 5.2k $52k (exactly $51,548) The Knights of Unity
Only Whores Survive 🔞 $9.99 148 61% 4.4k $44k (exactly $44,356) BanzaiProject
The Last Man Survivor $4.99 279 67% 8.4k $42k (exactly $41,766) Renderise

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