Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Gun Customization

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Gun Customization Action RPG?

Action RPG + Gun Customization

Of 33 developers who shipped a Gun Customization 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.. 97 more are announced, ×7.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.1k, ×3.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $2.7M, ×1866 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 97 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 97 announced, ×7.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Gun Customization
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $17k → $11k → $8.1k → $21k → $2.9k → $1.9k → $450 (still earning) → $61k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Gun Customization: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $5.1k (exactly $5,095)
Top 25% $51k (exactly $51,249)
Top 5% $2.8M (exactly $2,795,631)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 103
Announced 97
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 95% on the market, supply 40% fewer 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
Gun Customization
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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, Gun Customization; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action, Shooter
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 19,881 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $5.1k, 1 in 4 over $51k, 1 in 20 over $2.7M.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 6 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 97 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.5 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

SULFUR 2024 · EA · $7.2M M.A.S.S. Builder 2025 · $2.8M Killsquad 2021 · $2.6M SAND LAND 2024 · $1.8M Wanderburg 2026 · EA · $946k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SULFUR · EA $24.99 9,641 87% 289k $7.2M (exactly $7,227,858) Perfect Random
M.A.S.S. Builder $24.99 3,729 85% 112k $2.8M (exactly $2,795,631) Vermillion Digital
Killsquad older $29.99 2,839 71% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,554,248) Novarama
SAND LAND older $59.99 1,018 86% 31k $1.8M (exactly $1,832,095) ILCA, Inc.
Wanderburg · EA $14.99 2,103 78% 63k $946k (exactly $945,719) Randwerk
Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone · EA $39.99 528 62% 16k $633k (exactly $633,442) The Farm 51
Disney•Pixar Cars 2: The Video Game older $19.99 970 79% 29k $582k (exactly $581,709) Avalanche Software
Bad 2 Bad: Apocalypse $19.99 905 77% 27k $543k (exactly $542,728) DAWINSTONE
NIMRODS · EA $9.99 1,783 85% 53k $534k (exactly $534,365) Fiveamp
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles older $49.99 294 52% 8.8k $441k (exactly $440,912) ZOC Co.,Ltd.
Z.O.N.A: Origin $19.99 540 83% 16k $324k (exactly $323,838) AGaming+
Time Treker $6.99 399 65% 12k $84k (exactly $83,670) Fuse Game
D.E.C.A.Y. · EA $24.99 82 84% 2.5k $61k (exactly $61,475) AGaming+
Decision Legacy Collection $9.99 171 83% 5.1k $51k (exactly $51,249) FlyAnvil

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