Do I ship it?

Games › Hero Shooter › Hero Shooter + Action RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Action RPG Hero Shooter?

Hero Shooter + Action RPG

Of 32 developers who shipped an Action RPG Hero Shooter 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.. 58 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 9 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build. 16 developers shipped in the last year and 58 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 58 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hero Shooter + Action RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $416 → $719 → $1.1k → $479 → $1.6k → $240 → $297 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hero Shooter + Action RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $297 (exactly $297)
Top 25% $1.6k (exactly $1,559)
Top 5% $55k (exactly $55,313)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 111
Announced 58
Effort 9 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 35% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Hero Shooter
effort 9 / 10 · low · competitive netcode plus hero balance and content cadence
Action RPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Hero Shooter, Action RPG; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Action-Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 578 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $89, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.5k, 1 in 20 over $55k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hero Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SimulationLong shot31 devs · median $478 · 28 announced
  2. + Bullet HellLong shot59 devs · median $449 · 56 announced
  3. + Boomer ShooterLong shot30 devs · median $210 · 21 announced
  4. + MedievalLong shot10 devs · median $150 · 12 announced
  5. + Online Co-OpPoor odds20 devs · median $7.2k · 51 announced
  6. + SuperheroPoor odds6 devs · median $6.3k · 11 announced
  7. + Battle RoyalePoor odds9 devs · median $3.6k · 29 announced
  8. + Co-opPoor odds22 devs · median $3.6k · 53 announced
  9. + PvPPoor odds27 devs · median $2.3k · 127 announced
  10. + PlatformerPoor odds21 devs · median $2.2k · 33 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds25 devs · median $2.1k · 68 announced
  12. + PhysicsPoor odds27 devs · median $1.6k · 34 announced

All 87 pairs on the Hero Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok 2024 · $1.9M Beyond Sunset 2025 · $89k Deadrock Redemption 2 2025 · $55k Grand Pigeon's Duty 2016 · $54k Precursors 2017 · $32k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok older $9.99 6,180 88% 185k $1.9M (exactly $1,852,146) Noxfall Studios
Beyond Sunset $9.99 297 77% 8.9k $89k (exactly $89,011) Metacorp / Vaporware
Deadrock Redemption 2 $14.99 123 86% 3.7k $55k (exactly $55,313) Entropy Digital Entertainment
Grand Pigeon's Duty older $3.99 448 76% 13k $54k (exactly $53,626) WolfgangIs
Precursors older $14.99 72 76% 2.2k $32k (exactly $32,378) Deep Shadows
Avium older $29.99 26 76% 780 $23k (exactly $23,392) The Robot
The Lord of the Parties older $15.99 38 68% 1.1k $18k (exactly $18,229) Magic Cube, Dizcon
Desert Special Forces older $19.99 20 65% 600 $12k (exactly $11,994) Gamesforgames
WarOfGods 2 $29.99 13 76% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Mensa World
Deadrock Salvation $9.99 38 86% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) Ghost Machine
Kebabstar 🌯⭐ · EA $14.99 14 78% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) Zeybek
Just Skill Shooter: Catacombs $9.99 17 64% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) Gamesforgames
Lycoris $9.99 15 33% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Miki Games
Maniac Path 3 $9.99 12 100% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Gamesforgames
Story of the Olivia $12.99 4 0% 120 $1.6k (exactly $1,559) Uğur ÇELİK
MEMOLOGY: ITALIAN MEME WAR $0.99 45 97% 1.4k $1.3k (exactly $1,336) Piece Of Voxel, Gamesforfarm

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