Do I ship it?

GamesAction RPGAction RPG + Economy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Economy Action RPG?

Action RPG + Economy

Of 23 developers who shipped an Economy 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, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $820, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 69 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper, while revenue is up 15% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 69 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Economy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $239 → $546k → $1.2k → $150 → $20k → $0 (still earning) → $120k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Economy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $824 (exactly $824)
Top 25% $48k (exactly $47,976)
Top 5% $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 52
Announced 69
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.99

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 15% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Economy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Economy; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Management, Simulation
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 6,074 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 $820, 1 in 4 over $47k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 6 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 69 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Riftbreaker older $29.99 22,127 90% 664k $20M (exactly $19,907,662) EXOR Studios
Avorion older $24.99 13,001 90% 390k $9.7M (exactly $9,746,850) Boxelware
Immortal Life older $16.99 3,853 79% 116k $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) YiFang Studio
Saleblazers · EA older $29.99 1,974 78% 59k $1.8M (exactly $1,776,008) AIRSTRAFE INTERACTIVE
Mirthwood $24.99 2,242 69% 67k $1.7M (exactly $1,680,827) Bad Ridge Games
ZeroSpace · EA $39.99 1,161 78% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852) Starlance Studios, Ironward
Noble Legacy · EA $24.99 744 70% 22k $558k (exactly $557,777) Ultimus Rex LLC
The Brew Barons older $21.99 828 75% 25k $546k (exactly $546,232) Lifetap Studios
Fell & Sell $9.99 1,428 84% 43k $428k (exactly $427,972) Art Games Studio S.A.
Alek - The Lost Kingdom · EA older $19.99 392 76% 12k $235k (exactly $235,082) Jessy Lemieux
Tavern Legends $24.99 160 91% 4.8k $120k (exactly $119,952) CROWFORGE Games
Dungeons & Kingdoms · EA $19.99 80 40% 2.4k $48k (exactly $47,976) Uncle Grouch Gaming
Yuma Nest · EA $19.99 57 89% 1.7k $34k (exactly $34,183) Piokou
Mining Survivors $4.99 132 74% 4.0k $20k (exactly $19,760) Wonderbounce Games
BreakEven - Idle · EA $4.99 39 58% 1.2k $5.8k (exactly $5,838) NKnives
Market Street Tycoon Simulator $0.99 31 48% 930 $921 (exactly $921) Yusuf Islam Seyhan, Samet Acar

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