Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Card Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Card Game Action RPG?

Action RPG + Card Game

Of 20 developers who shipped a Card Game 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.. 48 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240. 48 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 per shipper, while revenue is up 90% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 90% on the market, 48 announced, ×5.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Card Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $180 → $838 → $897 (still earning) → $1.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Card Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $897 (exactly $897)
Top 25% $23k (exactly $22,789)
Top 5% $247k (exactly $246,566)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 67
Announced 48
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 90% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 25%, 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
Card Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Action RPG, Card Game; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Deckbuilding, Dungeon Crawler
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2.5D, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 1,140 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $900, 1 in 4 over $22k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 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

Book of Demons 2018 · $6.0M Hand of Fate 2015 · $4.8M Hand of Fate 2 2017 · $4.7M One Step From Eden 2020 · $3.6M Mahokenshi - The Samurai Deckbuilder 2023 · $348k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Book of Demons older $24.99 8,010 91% 240k $6.0M (exactly $6,005,097) Thing Trunk
Hand of Fate older $19.99 8,009 89% 240k $4.8M (exactly $4,802,997) Defiant Development
Hand of Fate 2 older $29.99 5,273 84% 158k $4.7M (exactly $4,744,118) Defiant Development
One Step From Eden older $19.99 6,039 94% 181k $3.6M (exactly $3,621,588) Thomas Moon Kang
Mahokenshi - The Samurai Deckbuilder older $24.99 464 77% 14k $348k (exactly $347,861) Game Source Studio
FORCED SHOWDOWN older $19.99 491 82% 15k $294k (exactly $294,453) BetaDwarf
9th Dawn Remake $15.99 514 86% 15k $247k (exactly $246,566) Valorware
Godslayer Arena · EA $14.99 257 76% 7.7k $116k (exactly $115,573) Hippo Rider Games
Golden Swirl $19.99 149 92% 4.5k $89k (exactly $89,355) Snako Production
Into the Restless Ruins $14.99 109 83% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,017) Ant Workshop Ltd
Deadhaus Sonata · EA $19.99 38 68% 1.1k $23k (exactly $22,789) Apocalypse Studios
School of Magic: Deck & Slash · EA $19.99 18 66% 540 $11k (exactly $10,795) PartTimeIndie
Code Reactors $11.99 27 92% 810 $9.7k (exactly $9,712) Studio Act One
Seoul Exorcist 1111 $17.99 7 100% 210 $3.8k (exactly $3,778) Snow Games
Cat Hits the Deck · EA $5.00 11 100% 330 $1.7k (exactly $1,650) Arc Willow
Ritualist $2.99 10 80% 300 $897 (exactly $897) SHARQ IT LAB

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