Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Dynamic Narration

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dynamic Narration Action RPG?

Action RPG + Dynamic Narration

Of 22 developers who shipped a Dynamic Narration 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.. 50 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 14 developers shipped in the last year and 50 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 50 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Dynamic Narration
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $208 → $6.7k → $599 → $180 → $419 → $300 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Dynamic Narration: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $719 (exactly $719)
Top 5% $267k (exactly $267,466)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 52
Announced 50
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 25% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Dynamic Narration
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, Dynamic Narration; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action, Exploration
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 9,992 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 $300, 1 in 4 over $710, 1 in 20 over $260k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 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

Bastion 2011 · $13M Drova - Forsaken Kin 2024 · $7.1M Stories: The Path of Destinies 2016 · $874k Omensight: Definitive Edition 2018 · $704k 武林志2 (Wushu Chronicles 2) 2021 · EA · $477k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Bastion older $14.99 28,223 95% 847k $13M (exactly $12,691,883) Supergiant Games
Drova - Forsaken Kin $24.99 9,455 93% 284k $7.1M (exactly $7,088,414) Just2D
Stories: The Path of Destinies older $14.99 1,943 87% 58k $874k (exactly $873,767) Spearhead Games
Omensight: Definitive Edition older $19.99 1,174 88% 35k $704k (exactly $704,048) Spearhead Games
武林志2 (Wushu Chronicles 2) · EA older $19.99 795 41% 24k $477k (exactly $476,761) JiangHu Studio
Young Souls older $24.99 494 84% 15k $370k (exactly $370,352) 1P2P
The Inquisitor older $39.99 277 66% 8.3k $332k (exactly $332,317) The Dust S.A.
The Uncertain: Light At The End older $9.99 970 64% 29k $291k (exactly $290,709) ComonGames
Under The Island $19.99 446 92% 13k $267k (exactly $267,466) Slime King Games
Immortal Heritage · EA older $39.99 89 84% 2.7k $107k (exactly $106,773) LC.Game
Bow Down & Eyes Up $19.99 65 66% 2.0k $39k (exactly $38,980) Yamada Mikio
Hate-Gem Rise Of Demon · EA $4.99 11 100% 330 $1.6k (exactly $1,647) ElLeonGamer
Armed Animals RPG $15.99 2 100% 60 $959 (exactly $959) Strejda Jenda Productions
The Museum Sentinel $11.99 2 100% 60 $719 (exactly $719) Mate Lovas
Prison Glow $5.99 4 75% 120 $719 (exactly $719) KromiXX
Gems are Mine, Slashes are Yours: Blood & Blessing $9.99 2 0% 60 $599 (exactly $599) DIM Games
Junkyard Universe $6.99 2 100% 60 $419 (exactly $419) Sarah Dressel
Cognite $3.99 3 100% 90 $359 (exactly $359) Frosted Wings Studio

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