Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Action RPG?

Action RPG + Hacking

Only 10 developers shipped a Hacking Action RPG in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Shadows of Doubt, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 21 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $19k against a market of $1.5k. 21 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 12.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 21 announced, ×5.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Hacking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 10
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $22k → $240 → $24k
Outcomes for Action RPG + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 10
Bottom 30% $748 (exactly $748)
Median $19k (exactly $19,337)
Top 25% $51k (exactly $51,249)
Top 5% $11M (exactly $10,980,106)
Developers, 2 yr 10
Released games 33
Announced 21
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $14.99

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 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, excluded from money figures.

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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
Hacking
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
Price point
$14.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 8 games average 83% positive over 18,041 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $750, median $19k, 1 in 4 over $51k, 1 in 20 over $10M.

3 in 10 developers made under $750. 5 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 21 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 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 Peripeteia 2025 · EA · $2.3M E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy 2011 · $1.9M Hack 'n' Slash 2014 · $216k Brigand: Oaxaca 2017 · $165k
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
Peripeteia · EA $24.99 3,120 86% 94k $2.3M (exactly $2,339,064) Ninth Exodus
E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy older $9.99 6,303 84% 189k $1.9M (exactly $1,889,009) Streum On Studio
Hack 'n' Slash older $13.37 538 57% 16k $216k (exactly $215,792) Double Fine Productions
Brigand: Oaxaca older $9.99 551 94% 17k $165k (exactly $165,135) Brian J. Lancaster, Laughing Coyote Sof… (Brian J. Lancaster, Laughing Coyote Software)
Decision Legacy Collection $9.99 171 83% 5.1k $51k (exactly $51,249) FlyAnvil
Samurai Slaughter House · EA older $29.99 51 37% 1.5k $46k (exactly $45,885) Tab Games
Within the Cosmos $14.99 53 43% 1.6k $24k (exactly $23,834) debdev
Sapper - Defuse The Bomb Simulator older $9.99 73 34% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,878) Live Motion Games
Cyberscape $14.99 43 93% 1.3k $19k (exactly $19,337) AtomicTorch Studio
Botomy $14.99 2 100% 60 $899 (exactly $899) Brokkli Labs LLC
GRID/ $4.99 5 100% 150 $748 (exactly $748) NoeNoe Games
Black Signal $4.99 1 0% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Matthew Lalande
Dimensional Shift Awakening $19.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Vincent Santos Valdez
Bushido Kensei The Last Warrior $1.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Ninja Studios

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