Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Class-Based

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Class-Based Action RPG?

Action RPG + Class-Based

Of 88 developers who shipped a Class-Based 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.. 214 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.9k, ×1.9 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $580k, ×392 the market median. Revenue is up 225% on the market; 214 games are announced against 55 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 225% on the market, 214 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Class-Based
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 88
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $43k → $2.6k → $4.1k → $899 → $1.9k → $3.0k (still earning) → $3.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Class-Based: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 88
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $2.9k (exactly $2,876)
Top 25% $26k (exactly $26,445)
Top 5% $586k (exactly $586,473)
Developers, 2 yr 88
Released games 205
Announced 214
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.99

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 225% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Class-Based
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, Class-Based; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action, Combat
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 28,791 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $2.9k, 1 in 4 over $26k, 1 in 20 over $580k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 214 games are announced against 55 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 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. + 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

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide 2022 · $130M The Elder Scrolls® Online 2017 · $81M Tiny Tina's Wonderlands 2022 · $16M The Slormancer 2025 · $4.2M Visions of Mana 2024 · $3.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide older $39.99 108,477 72% 3.3M $130M (exactly $130,139,857) Fatshark
The Elder Scrolls® Online older $19.99 134,421 82% 4.0M $81M (exactly $80,612,274) ZeniMax Online Studios
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands older $29.99 17,779 70% 533k $16M (exactly $15,995,766) Gearbox Software
The Slormancer $19.99 6,926 81% 208k $4.2M (exactly $4,153,522) Slormite Studios
Visions of Mana older $59.99 2,117 76% 64k $3.8M (exactly $3,809,965) Square Enix
Chronicon older $13.99 8,822 94% 265k $3.7M (exactly $3,702,593) Subworld
Heroes of Hammerwatch II $19.99 5,806 82% 174k $3.5M (exactly $3,481,858) Crackshell
Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel $14.99 7,318 82% 220k $3.3M (exactly $3,290,905) Games Farm, ARTillery
SpiritVale · EA $14.99 4,755 48% 143k $2.1M (exactly $2,138,324) Baikun Interactive
Dungeon Defenders: Awakened older $14.99 3,264 67% 98k $1.5M (exactly $1,467,821) Chromatic Games
Dimraeth · EA $21.99 889 80% 27k $586k (exactly $586,473) Mudtek
Heretical · EA $14.99 933 84% 28k $420k (exactly $419,570) Three Swords Studio
Serpent's Gaze · EA $14.99 737 88% 22k $331k (exactly $331,429) Feeble Minds
Legionbound $9.99 671 83% 20k $201k (exactly $201,099) Spicy Garlic Games
Kingdom of Night $19.99 326 86% 9.8k $196k (exactly $195,502) Friends of Safety
ZENONIA 1 $9.99 430 80% 13k $129k (exactly $128,871) Com2us Holdings, CFK Co., Ltd.

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