Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Action RPG?

Action RPG + Dystopian

Of 52 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 155 more are announced, ×6.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.3k, ×4.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $17M, ×11844 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 155 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 155 announced, ×6.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 52
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $748 → $2.5k → $450 → $1.1k → $35k → $1.0k → $6.3k (still earning) → $105k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 52
Bottom 30% $390 (exactly $390)
Median $6.3k (exactly $6,296)
Top 25% $105k (exactly $105,392)
Top 5% $18M (exactly $17,742,465)
Developers, 2 yr 52
Released games 132
Announced 155
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 65% on the market, supply as many developers as 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
Dystopian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 104,206 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $390, median $6.3k, 1 in 4 over $100k, 1 in 20 over $17M.

3 in 10 developers made under $390. 6 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 155 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.0 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

Stellar Blade™ 2025 · $110M RoboCop: Rogue City 2023 · $34M AI LIMIT 2025 · $24M The Outer Worlds 2 2025 · $18M The Ascent 2021 · $17M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stellar Blade™ $59.99 61,289 93% 1.8M $110M (exactly $110,301,813) SHIFT UP Corporation
RoboCop: Rogue City older $39.99 28,196 86% 846k $34M (exactly $33,826,741) Teyon
AI LIMIT $34.99 22,833 92% 685k $24M (exactly $23,967,800) Sense Games
The Outer Worlds 2 $69.99 8,450 73% 254k $18M (exactly $17,742,465) Obsidian Entertainment
The Ascent older $29.99 19,235 74% 577k $17M (exactly $17,305,730) Neon Giant
BioShock® 2 older $19.99 11,467 88% 344k $6.9M (exactly $6,876,760) 2K Marin, 2K China, Digital Extremes, 2… (2K Marin, 2K China, Digital Extremes, 2K Australia)
ELEX II older $49.99 4,015 73% 120k $6.0M (exactly $6,021,296) Piranha Bytes
RoboCop: Rogue City - Unfinished Business $29.99 3,931 84% 118k $3.5M (exactly $3,536,721) Teyon
Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition older $6.99 13,740 94% 412k $2.9M (exactly $2,881,278) Ion Storm
Peripeteia · EA $24.99 3,120 86% 94k $2.3M (exactly $2,339,064) Ninth Exodus
FREEDOM WARS Remastered $39.99 1,211 69% 36k $1.5M (exactly $1,452,837) Dimps Corporation
BLADECHIMERA $14.99 1,358 88% 41k $611k (exactly $610,693) Team Ladybug, WSS playground
Scavland · EA $19.99 800 81% 24k $480k (exactly $479,760) NoShadow
Ascend to ZERO $11.99 867 82% 26k $312k (exactly $311,860) Flyway Games, Inc.
Void Sols $14.99 347 95% 10k $156k (exactly $156,046) Finite Reflection Studios

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