Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Crime
Should I ship a Crime Action RPG?
Action RPG + Crime
Of 22 developers who shipped a Crime 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.. 54 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 $1.0k, ×0.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540. 54 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper, while revenue is up 795% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $59k (exactly $58,911) |
| Top 5% | $2.4M (exactly $2,441,512) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 72 |
| Announced | 54 |
| 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 795% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Crime
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Action RPG; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Funny, Violent
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 13,782 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action RPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + NavalFair
- + Local Co-OpFair
- + WesternFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + Walking SimulatorLong shot
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
Comparable games
RoboCop: Rogue City 2023 · $34M 
Gotham Knights 2022 · $28M 
Sifu 2023 · $26M 
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name 2023 · $14M 
Lost Judgment 2022 · $9.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | RoboCop: Rogue City | older | $39.99 | 28,196 86% | 846k | $34M (exactly $33,826,741) | Teyon |
| | Gotham Knights | older | $59.99 | 15,688 68% | 471k | $28M (exactly $28,233,694) | Warner Bros. Games Montréal, QLOC |
| | Sifu | older | $39.99 | 21,620 92% | 649k | $26M (exactly $25,937,514) | Sloclap |
| | Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name | older | $49.99 | 9,118 95% | 274k | $14M (exactly $13,674,265) | RGG Studio |
| | Lost Judgment | older | $39.99 | 7,461 93% | 224k | $9.0M (exactly $8,950,962) | RGG Studio |
 | Yakuza 6: The Song of Life | older | $19.99 | 7,017 92% | 211k | $4.2M (exactly $4,208,095) | RGG Studio |
 | Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties | $59.99 | 2,229 62% | 67k | $4.0M (exactly $4,011,531) | RGG Studio | |
 | Yakuza 5 Remastered | older | $19.99 | 6,199 88% | 186k | $3.7M (exactly $3,717,540) | RGG Studio |
 | RoboCop: Rogue City - Unfinished Business | $29.99 | 3,931 84% | 118k | $3.5M (exactly $3,536,721) | Teyon | |
 | Yakuza 4 Remastered | older | $19.99 | 5,657 91% | 170k | $3.4M (exactly $3,392,503) | RGG Studio |
 | Yakuza 0 Director's Cut | $49.99 | 1,628 80% | 49k | $2.4M (exactly $2,441,512) | RGG Studio | |
 | Promise Mascot Agency | $24.99 | 2,569 96% | 77k | $1.9M (exactly $1,925,979) | Kaizen Game Works | |
 | Yakuza Kiwami | $19.99 | 1,334 82% | 40k | $800k (exactly $800,000) | RGG Studio | |
 | Yakuza Kiwami 2 | $19.99 | 1,135 82% | 34k | $681k (exactly $680,660) | RGG Studio | |
 | Undercover | $14.99 | 667 77% | 20k | $300k (exactly $299,950) | intiny | |
 | Troublemaker 2: Beyond Dream | $24.99 | 142 95% | 4.3k | $106k (exactly $106,457) | Gamecom Team | |
 | Miami Paradise 2 | $14.99 | 131 94% | 3.9k | $59k (exactly $58,911) | Entropy Digital Entertainment | |
 | Prison Life Sim 2026 - Survival | · EA | $9.99 | 16 0% | 480 | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) | Great Escape Games Publishing |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.