Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Bullet Time

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Bullet Time Action RPG?

Action RPG + Bullet Time

Of 22 developers who shipped a Bullet Time 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.. 51 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 $840, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360. 51 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper, while revenue is up 15% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 51 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Bullet Time
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $450 → $2.2k → $1.2k → $750 → $300 → $594 (still earning) → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Bullet Time: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $839 (exactly $839)
Top 25% $2.4k (exactly $2,394)
Top 5% $4.5k (exactly $4,491)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 69
Announced 51
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 15% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Bullet Time
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Bullet Time; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Combat
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Linear
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 304 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $840, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $4.4k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. All of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 14 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

Paradiso Guardian 2023 · $281k Dredgers 2019 · $169k Ary and the Secret of Seasons 2020 · $161k Madshot 2023 · $126k Titans of the Past 2025 · $81k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Paradiso Guardian older $29.99 312 91% 9.4k $281k (exactly $280,706) Team Lv.266
Dredgers older $11.99 471 88% 14k $169k (exactly $169,419) Pirate-Rob
Ary and the Secret of Seasons older $39.99 134 64% 4.0k $161k (exactly $160,760) eXiin, Fishing Cactus
Madshot older $19.99 210 79% 6.3k $126k (exactly $125,937) Overflow
Titans of the Past $24.99 108 83% 3.2k $81k (exactly $80,968) Devil's Dozen Games
Avium older $29.99 26 76% 780 $23k (exactly $23,392) The Robot
Dungeon Core older $11.99 48 79% 1.4k $17k (exactly $17,266) Talismanic Entertainment
8089: The Next Action RPG older $9.99 57 78% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,083) Phr00t's Software
Void -Dementia- older $14.99 29 58% 870 $13k (exactly $13,041) J2YSOFT
ROMBIE older $8.99 29 79% 870 $7.8k (exactly $7,821) Phr00t's Software
Retro Abyss : Last Wish Of The Game $4.99 30 93% 900 $4.5k (exactly $4,491) Ben Big Game Studio
Agony Increment $7.99 17 100% 510 $4.1k (exactly $4,075) Parish Softworks
Cyborg City $12.99 9 100% 270 $3.5k (exactly $3,507) Cyborg Dreams
Mutagenic $0.99 94 93% 2.8k $2.8k (exactly $2,792) Mutagenic Studios Ltd
Labyrinth Sword Princess $3.99 20 70% 600 $2.4k (exactly $2,394) 黄烁强002
Law of Demons $12.99 5 60% 150 $1.9k (exactly $1,948) Sierra Nevada Tunis
BROKEN SOUL : Boss Rush $12.99 4 75% 120 $1.6k (exactly $1,559) DoubleJLabs
Farmsville · EA $3.99 11 100% 330 $1.3k (exactly $1,317) Farmsville Prod.
Ashrun Survivors · EA $4.90 6 100% 180 $882 (exactly $882) Nicholas Schmitz

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