Do I ship it?

GamesAction RPGAction RPG + Life Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Life Sim Action RPG?

Action RPG + Life Sim

Of 33 developers who shipped a Life Sim 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.. 108 more are announced, ×6.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $920, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540. 108 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.4 per shipper, while revenue is down 80% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 108 announced, ×6.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Life Sim
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: $3.4k → $1.8k → $10k → $1.6k → $6.2k → $6.3k → $6.2k (still earning) → $718 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Life Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $921 (exactly $921)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,827)
Top 5% $1.7M (exactly $1,680,827)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 105
Announced 108
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 80% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Life Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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, Life Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Crafting, Action
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 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 $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 7,861 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $920, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $1.6M.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 108 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.4 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
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma $59.99 2,947 88% 88k $5.3M (exactly $5,303,716) Marvelous Inc.
HARVESTELLA older $59.99 2,071 77% 62k $3.7M (exactly $3,727,179) Square Enix
Potion Permit older $19.99 4,358 78% 131k $2.6M (exactly $2,613,493) MassHive Media
Chinese Online Game older $9.99 6,610 82% 198k $2.0M (exactly $1,981,017) 648工作室
Immortal Life older $16.99 3,853 79% 116k $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) YiFang Studio
Mirthwood $24.99 2,242 69% 67k $1.7M (exactly $1,680,827) Bad Ridge Games
Chef RPG · EA older $19.99 2,593 87% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,555,022) World 2 Studio
WolfQuest: Classic $29.99 1,401 90% 42k $1.3M (exactly $1,260,480) eduweb
Swords 'n Magic and Stuff · EA older $24.99 890 92% 27k $667k (exactly $667,233) Kindred Games
Lynked: Banner of the Spark $14.99 375 77% 11k $169k (exactly $168,638) FuzzyBot
Captain Bones : A Pirate's Journey $14.99 348 79% 10k $156k (exactly $156,496) World of Poly
Tavern Legends $24.99 160 91% 4.8k $120k (exactly $119,952) CROWFORGE Games
Fight School Simulator $9.99 227 88% 6.8k $68k (exactly $68,032) Queen
The Story Page · EA $7.99 103 78% 3.1k $25k (exactly $24,689) SPR-Games
SKY THE SCRAPER $11.99 44 100% 1.3k $16k (exactly $15,827) Ryo Kobuchi
Kebabstar 🌯⭐ · EA $14.99 14 78% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) Zeybek

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