Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective Action RPG?

Action RPG + Detective

Of 32 developers who shipped a Detective 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.. 69 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 $540, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 69 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper, while revenue is down 75% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 69 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $183k → $239 → $10k → $2.0k → $1.9k → $750 → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $538 (exactly $538)
Top 25% $3.1k (exactly $3,148)
Top 5% $1.6M (exactly $1,567,186)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 77
Announced 69
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 75% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Detective
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Action-Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 17,244 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $540, 1 in 4 over $3.1k, 1 in 20 over $1.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 69 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action RPG with a different setting or mood, 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

Shadows of Doubt 2024 · $11M Lost Judgment 2022 · $9.0M The Sinking City Remastered 2021 · $6.4M RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army 2025 · $1.6M HellSign 2021 · $1.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Shadows of Doubt $24.99 14,646 82% 439k $11M (exactly $10,980,106) ColePowered Games
Lost Judgment older $39.99 7,461 93% 224k $9.0M (exactly $8,950,962) RGG Studio
The Sinking City Remastered older $39.99 5,361 75% 161k $6.4M (exactly $6,431,592) Frogwares
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army $49.99 1,045 93% 31k $1.6M (exactly $1,567,186) ATLUS
HellSign older $19.99 2,147 67% 64k $1.3M (exactly $1,287,556) Ballistic Interactive
West Hunt older $9.99 1,522 84% 46k $456k (exactly $456,143) NewGen
FLAM EVAW $9.99 1,378 95% 41k $413k (exactly $412,987) 北京万合瑞晟文化传媒有限公司
The Inquisitor older $39.99 277 66% 8.3k $332k (exactly $332,317) The Dust S.A.
Inspector Schmidt - A Bavarian Tale older $17.99 340 77% 10k $183k (exactly $183,498) Active Fungus Studios
Explorer of Yggdrasil older $19.99 258 84% 7.7k $155k (exactly $154,723) Black Train
Outbreak: Shades of Horror Chromatic Split $24.99 24 50% 720 $18k (exactly $17,993) Dead Drop Studios LLC
DOOMED Detective Game $6.99 65 46% 2.0k $14k (exactly $13,630) Azikton Studio
Mind Control: Bloody Renaissance $9.99 29 100% 870 $8.7k (exactly $8,691) BYYONI Entertainment
Augmented Empire $7.99 25 88% 750 $6.0k (exactly $5,992) Coatsink
One Way Mirror: AI · EA $14.99 7 85% 210 $3.1k (exactly $3,148) Pigi the Wizard and the Feral Yellow Sh… (Pigi the Wizard and the Feral Yellow Sheep)
IMRY $4.99 14 85% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,096) Igor Yakunin
Mikoshi: The Lost Crystals $5.99 11 90% 330 $2.0k (exactly $1,977) DremGames

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