Do I ship it?

GamesAction RPGAction RPG + Deckbuilding

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Deckbuilding Action RPG?

Action RPG + Deckbuilding

Of 28 developers who shipped a Deckbuilding 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.. 77 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×3.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×165 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 77 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 77 announced, ×4.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Deckbuilding
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5M → $2.5k → $180 → $140k → $9.7k → $5.1k (still earning) → $1.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Deckbuilding: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $1.4k (exactly $1,373)
Median $4.5k (exactly $4,498)
Top 25% $49k (exactly $49,017)
Top 5% $247k (exactly $246,566)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 70
Announced 77
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 down 60% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Action RPG, Deckbuilding; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Card Game
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
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 83% positive over 4,197 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.4k, median $4.5k, 1 in 4 over $49k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 6 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 77 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 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
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
Lost in Random™ older $29.99 4,479 88% 134k $4.0M (exactly $4,029,756) Zoink, Thunderful
One Step From Eden older $19.99 6,039 94% 181k $3.6M (exactly $3,621,588) Thomas Moon Kang
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 1 older $39.99 1,290 87% 39k $1.5M (exactly $1,547,613) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection $39.99 657 96% 20k $788k (exactly $788,203) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 2 older $39.99 521 87% 16k $625k (exactly $625,044) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
SNKRX older $2.99 4,198 94% 126k $377k (exactly $376,561) a327ex
WARTILE older $19.99 601 75% 18k $360k (exactly $360,420) Playwood Project
9th Dawn Remake $15.99 514 86% 15k $247k (exactly $246,566) Valorware
Slime 3K: Rise Against Despot $4.99 1,584 79% 48k $237k (exactly $237,125) Konfa Games
Bioweaver $6.99 668 77% 20k $140k (exactly $140,080) Emprom Game, Wild Kid Games
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
I'm No Demonlord $8.99 163 84% 4.9k $44k (exactly $43,961) NiaoWu Studio
Yuma Nest · EA $19.99 57 89% 1.7k $34k (exactly $34,183) Piokou
Willow Guard $15.99 39 89% 1.2k $19k (exactly $18,708) MiTale

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