Do I ship it?

GamesAction RPGAction RPG + Boss Rush

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Boss Rush Action RPG?

Action RPG + Boss Rush

Only 16 developers shipped a Boss Rush Action RPG 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, Rubinite, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 32 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.6k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $2.1M, ×1436 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 32 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 32 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Boss Rush
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.5k → $449 → $839 (still earning) → $3.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Boss Rush: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,559)
Top 25% $7.0k (exactly $7,008)
Top 5% $2.2M (exactly $2,151,124)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 29
Announced 32
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 down 20% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Boss Rush
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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, Boss Rush; all of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Souls-like
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Difficult, Linear
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 92% positive over 6,201 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $7.0k, 1 in 20 over $2.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tribes of Midgard older $19.99 17,465 76% 524k $10M (exactly $10,473,760) Norsfell
Rubinite $19.99 3,587 94% 108k $2.2M (exactly $2,151,124) Cup Dog Games, GameWorks Ventures
Eldest Souls older $19.99 3,125 76% 94k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,062) Fallen Flag Studio
Dinoblade $19.99 2,420 90% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,451,274) Team Spino LLC
NanoApostle older $19.99 1,184 95% 36k $710k (exactly $710,045) 18Light Game Ltd.
Gripper older $19.99 51 84% 1.5k $31k (exactly $30,585) Heart Core
BOSSGAME: The Final Boss Is My Heart older $9.99 83 98% 2.5k $25k (exactly $24,875) Lilycore Games
Towertale older $9.99 50 90% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) MiSou Games
ABYSSAL BLADE $4.99 92 96% 2.8k $14k (exactly $13,772) Vifer Games
Savage: Ultimate Boss Fight older $4.99 64 98% 1.9k $9.6k (exactly $9,581) SavageDev
Dustless $5.99 39 71% 1.2k $7.0k (exactly $7,008) 神刀之死
Healer $9.99 13 76% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) Valentin Louvet
Echoes of Forgotten Dreams $4.99 25 100% 750 $3.7k (exactly $3,742) Nomary, Sesame
Clearing Blade · EA $8.99 13 92% 390 $3.5k (exactly $3,506) Devdepot
BROKEN SOUL : Boss Rush $12.99 4 75% 120 $1.6k (exactly $1,559) DoubleJLabs
Dragon Knight $9.99 4 75% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) MachNone
MARINE.EXE - Desktop RPG $6.99 4 75% 120 $839 (exactly $839) Exopoint Initiative

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