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Should I ship an Interactive Fiction Action RPG?
Action RPG + Interactive Fiction
Of 44 developers who shipped an Interactive Fiction 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.. 75 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $420 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 27 developers shipped in the last year and 75 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $419 (exactly $419) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $11,867) |
| Top 5% | $300k (exactly $299,950) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 44 |
| Released games | 127 |
| Announced | 75 |
| Effort | 7 / 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 85% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Action RPG, Interactive Fiction; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Action
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 9,509 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + NavalFair
- + Local Co-OpFair
- + WesternFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + Walking SimulatorLong shot
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
Comparable games
SCARLET NEXUS 2021 · $25M 
Sora no Kiseki the 1st 2025 · $9.4M 
KYOTO XANADU -the Blooming Phantom- 2026 · $665k 
FLAM EVAW 2025 · $413k 
Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter 2026 · $308k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | SCARLET NEXUS | older | $59.99 | 13,749 81% | 412k | $25M (exactly $24,744,075) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. |
| | Sora no Kiseki the 1st | $59.99 | 5,205 97% | 156k | $9.4M (exactly $9,367,438) | Nihon Falcom | |
| | KYOTO XANADU -the Blooming Phantom- | $54.99 | 403 78% | 12k | $665k (exactly $664,829) | Nihon Falcom | |
| | FLAM EVAW | $9.99 | 1,378 95% | 41k | $413k (exactly $412,987) | 北京万合瑞晟文化传媒有限公司 | |
| | Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter | $59.99 | 171 97% | 5.1k | $308k (exactly $307,749) | Nihon Falcom | |
 | Undercover | $14.99 | 667 77% | 20k | $300k (exactly $299,950) | intiny | |
 | Fallen Hero: Retribution | older | $11.99 | 415 97% | 12k | $149k (exactly $149,276) | Hosted Games |
 | Athenian Rhapsody | older | $14.99 | 320 91% | 9.6k | $144k (exactly $143,904) | Nico Papalia |
 | Kromlech | · EA | $29.99 | 136 65% | 4.1k | $122k (exactly $122,359) | Perun Creative |
 | Chained in the Backrooms | · EA | $2.99 | 933 68% | 28k | $84k (exactly $83,690) | Task+ Studios |
 | Survivor's Notes | $6.99 | 352 91% | 11k | $74k (exactly $73,814) | MYSTERY CROWN, YESPLAY | |
 | Horny Housewives 2 | $14.99 | 146 63% | 4.4k | $66k (exactly $65,656) | Entropy Digital Entertainment | |
 | CyberPimp 2069 | $17.99 | 118 87% | 3.5k | $64k (exactly $63,685) | Entropy Digital Entertainment |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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