Do I ship it?

GamesAction RPGAction RPG + City Builder

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a City Builder Action RPG?

Action RPG + City Builder

Only 16 developers shipped a City Builder 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, ZeroSpace, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 46 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×2.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $330; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×930 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 46 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 46 announced, ×4.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + City Builder
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: $2.3k → $208 → $36k → $3.3k → $3.6k (still earning) → $718 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + City Builder: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $330 (exactly $330)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 25% $118k (exactly $118,082)
Top 5% $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 58
Announced 46
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $10.99

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 90% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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
City Builder
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, City Builder
Price point
$10.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 2,967 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $330, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $110k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $330. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 46 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 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
Ni no Kuni™ II: Revenant Kingdom older $59.99 8,100 82% 243k $15M (exactly $14,577,570) LEVEL5 Inc.
ZeroSpace · EA $39.99 1,161 78% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852) Starlance Studios, Ironward
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising older $14.99 2,075 85% 62k $933k (exactly $933,128) NatsumeAtari
Actraiser Renaissance older $29.99 708 74% 21k $637k (exactly $636,988) Square Enix, Sonic Powered
Noble Legacy · EA $24.99 744 70% 22k $558k (exactly $557,777) Ultimus Rex LLC
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles older $49.99 294 52% 8.8k $441k (exactly $440,912) ZOC Co.,Ltd.
holoVillage: Our Cozy Days $24.99 518 83% 16k $388k (exactly $388,345) Roboqlo
Alek - The Lost Kingdom · EA older $19.99 392 76% 12k $235k (exactly $235,082) Jessy Lemieux
Crystarise · EA older $15.99 248 77% 7.4k $119k (exactly $118,966) YUKIUSAGI Games
Fera: The Sundered Tribes · EA $9.99 394 57% 12k $118k (exactly $118,082) Massive Damage, Inc.
Kingdom's Return: Time-Eating Fruit and the Ancient Monster $14.99 90 52% 2.7k $40k (exactly $40,473) INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
WarOfGods 2 $29.99 13 76% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Mensa World
Beanrise $17.99 20 75% 600 $11k (exactly $10,794) RGB Entertainment
Forsaken Valley $9.99 12 91% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) KineticFox
Alone: Shattered Tribes $10.99 10 90% 300 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Super Llama Games
Wind Story $4.99 5 40% 150 $748 (exactly $748) BluSped Studio

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