Do I ship it?

GamesAction RPGAction RPG + Local Multiplayer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Action RPG?

Action RPG + Local Multiplayer

Of 43 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer 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.. 56 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $5.5k, ×3.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.1k. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 56 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 56 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Local Multiplayer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 43
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.7k → $6.7k → $7.3k → $19k → $17k → $62k → $1.0k (still earning) → $7.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Local Multiplayer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Median $5.5k (exactly $5,456)
Top 25% $70k (exactly $69,782)
Top 5% $410k (exactly $409,629)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 138
Announced 56
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 20% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Local Multiplayer
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, Local Multiplayer; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action, Local Co-Op
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Top-Down, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 3,481 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $5.5k, 1 in 4 over $69k, 1 in 20 over $400k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 7 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + Walking SimulatorLong shot35 devs · median $450 · 33 announced
  5. + WuxiaPoor odds7 devs · median $198k · 28 announced
  6. + Character Action GamePoor odds14 devs · median $105k · 55 announced
  7. + MechsPoor odds21 devs · median $59k · 43 announced
  8. + Colony SimPoor odds11 devs · median $58k · 35 announced
  9. + Dating SimPoor odds31 devs · median $44k · 47 announced
  10. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds23 devs · median $26k · 69 announced
  11. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds77 devs · median $25k · 91 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds44 devs · median $23k · 78 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
Street Fighter™ 6 older $39.99 49,952 81% 1.5M $60M (exactly $59,927,414) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition older $49.99 11,886 83% 357k $18M (exactly $17,825,434) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Barony older $19.99 12,714 90% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,624,586) Turning Wheel LLC
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM Revolution older $29.99 7,228 84% 217k $6.5M (exactly $6,503,032) CyberConnect2 Co., Ltd.
Magicka older $9.99 19,174 84% 575k $5.7M (exactly $5,746,448) Arrowhead Game Studios
Lost Castle / 失落城堡 older $9.99 18,417 87% 553k $5.5M (exactly $5,519,575) Hunter Studio
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising older $24.99 5,944 83% 178k $4.5M (exactly $4,456,217) Cygames, Inc., Arc System Works
Gauntlet™ Slayer Edition older $19.99 6,690 81% 201k $4.0M (exactly $4,011,993) Arrowhead Game Studios
Warhammer: Chaosbane older $29.99 3,274 60% 98k $2.9M (exactly $2,945,618) Eko Software
Secret of Mana older $39.99 2,429 67% 73k $2.9M (exactly $2,914,071) Square Enix
Tales of Graces f Remastered $39.99 773 87% 23k $927k (exactly $927,368) TOSE CO., LTD.
CAPTAIN TSUBASA 2: WORLD FIGHTERS $59.99 330 50% 9.9k $594k (exactly $593,901) TAMSOFT CORPORATION
Scott Pilgrim EX $28.99 471 85% 14k $410k (exactly $409,629) Tribute Games Inc.
DuneCrawl $19.99 568 74% 17k $341k (exactly $340,630) Alientrap
Coridden $19.99 426 89% 13k $255k (exactly $255,472) Aftnareld
Tales of Berseria Remastered $39.99 175 70% 5.3k $210k (exactly $209,948) D.A.G Inc.
Shape Shifter: Formations $14.99 269 91% 8.1k $121k (exactly $120,969) Castec Studios
Shrine's Legacy $19.99 155 82% 4.7k $93k (exactly $92,954) Positive Concept Games
Taival · EA $19.99 134 83% 4.0k $80k (exactly $80,360) Bonobo Software
Final Knight · EA $13.99 180 77% 5.4k $76k (exactly $75,546) 2oclocksoft

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