Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Character Action Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Character Action Game Action RPG?

Action RPG + Character Action Game

Only 14 developers shipped a Character Action Game 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, Lost Soul Aside™, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 55 more are announced, ×6.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $100k, ×70 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.3M, ×1570 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 55 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 69.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 60% on the market, 55 announced, ×6.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Character Action Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $385k → $4.6M → $3.0k → $488k → $105k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Character Action Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Median $105k (exactly $104,710)
Top 25% $741k (exactly $741,415)
Top 5% $2.4M (exactly $2,352,208)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 118
Announced 55
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $15.00

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 60% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.

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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
Character Action Game
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, Character Action Game
Price point
$15.00 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 6,966 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.8k, median $100k, 1 in 4 over $740k, 1 in 20 over $2.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 5 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.9 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. + MechsPoor odds21 devs · median $59k · 43 announced
  8. + Colony SimPoor odds11 devs · median $58k · 35 announced
  9. + Dating SimPoor odds31 devs · median $44k · 47 announced
  10. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds23 devs · median $26k · 69 announced
  11. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds77 devs · median $25k · 91 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds44 devs · median $23k · 78 announced

All 211 pairs on the Action RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

NieR Replicant™ ver.1.22474487139... 2021 · $39M SCARLET NEXUS 2021 · $25M Borderlands Game of the Year Enhanced 2023 · $16M KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX- 2024 · $16M Moonlighter 2018 · $10M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
NieR Replicant™ ver.1.22474487139... older $59.99 21,493 88% 645k $39M (exactly $38,680,952) Square Enix, Toylogic Inc.
SCARLET NEXUS older $59.99 13,749 81% 412k $25M (exactly $24,744,075) BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc.
Borderlands Game of the Year Enhanced older $29.99 18,217 81% 547k $16M (exactly $16,389,835) Gearbox Software, Blind Squirrel Games
KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX- older $49.99 10,471 86% 314k $16M (exactly $15,703,359) Square Enix
Moonlighter older $19.99 17,286 82% 519k $10M (exactly $10,366,414) Digital Sun
Steelrising older $49.99 4,568 73% 137k $6.9M (exactly $6,850,630) Spiders
KINGDOM HEARTS III + Re Mind (DLC) older $59.99 2,535 89% 76k $4.6M (exactly $4,562,240) Square Enix
Eternights older $29.99 3,046 85% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,740,486) Studio Sai
Lost Soul Aside™ $59.99 1,307 59% 39k $2.4M (exactly $2,352,208) Ultizero Games
Soulstice older $39.99 1,845 76% 55k $2.2M (exactly $2,213,446) Reply Game Studios
Homura Hime $24.99 2,316 90% 69k $1.7M (exactly $1,736,305) Crimson Dusk
KIBORG $24.99 1,221 84% 37k $915k (exactly $915,384) Sobaka Studio
Mahou Arms $39.99 618 73% 19k $741k (exactly $741,415) Dischan Media
GODBREAKERS $19.99 813 70% 24k $488k (exactly $487,556) To The Sky
Touhou ~Red Empress Devil. $8.99 438 70% 13k $118k (exactly $118,129) STUDIO POCO
The Awakener: Battle Tendency $14.98 233 74% 7.0k $105k (exactly $104,710) TANER GAMES
Xenrai $19.99 5 80% 150 $3.0k (exactly $2,998) Zenith Edge Studios
Slay The Berserker · EA $9.99 10 50% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) Advance Garde
Duil $11.99 5 80% 150 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) JL studio

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