Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Action RPG?
Action RPG + Mystery
Of 138 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 325 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 325 games are announced against 75 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper, while revenue is down 45% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) |
| Top 5% | $1.2M (exactly $1,170,282) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 138 |
| Released games | 326 |
| Announced | 325 |
| 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 45% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, 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
- Mystery
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Action RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Action
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 158,619 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 77 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 325 games are announced against 75 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action RPG with a different setting or mood, 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
DELTARUNE 2025 · $94M 
Onimusha: Way of the Sword 2026 · $24M 
Echoes of Aincrad 2026 · $8.6M 
Drova - Forsaken Kin 2024 · $7.1M 
Caribbean Legend 2024 · $3.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | DELTARUNE | $24.99 | 124,894 98% | 3.7M | $94M (exactly $93,633,032) | tobyfox | |
| | Onimusha: Way of the Sword | $69.99 | 11,279 89% | 338k | $24M (exactly $23,682,516) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
| | Echoes of Aincrad | $69.99 | 4,108 47% | 123k | $8.6M (exactly $8,625,568) | Game Studio Inc. | |
| | Drova - Forsaken Kin | $24.99 | 9,455 93% | 284k | $7.1M (exactly $7,088,414) | Just2D | |
| | Caribbean Legend | older | $39.99 | 2,860 74% | 86k | $3.4M (exactly $3,431,142) | BlackMark Studio |
 | Atlas Fallen: Reign Of Sand | older | $39.99 | 2,773 74% | 83k | $3.3M (exactly $3,326,768) | Deck13 |
 | SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY! | older | $29.99 | 3,111 48% | 93k | $2.8M (exactly $2,798,967) | Question |
 | Eternights | older | $29.99 | 3,046 85% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,740,486) | Studio Sai |
 | METAL GEAR SOLID 4: Guns of the Patriots - Master Collection Version | $29.99 | 2,315 96% | 69k | $2.1M (exactly $2,082,806) | KONAMI | |
 | RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army | $49.99 | 1,045 93% | 31k | $1.6M (exactly $1,567,186) | ATLUS | |
 | Total Chaos | $24.99 | 1,561 86% | 47k | $1.2M (exactly $1,170,282) | Trigger Happy Interactive | |
 | Escape from Ever After | $24.99 | 1,537 96% | 46k | $1.2M (exactly $1,152,289) | Sleepy Castle Studio, Wing-It! Creative | |
 | Wicked Seed | $19.99 | 1,376 94% | 41k | $825k (exactly $825,187) | Dead Right Games | |
 | HexBreaker Ⅱ | $19.99 | 1,049 64% | 31k | $629k (exactly $629,085) | 灵煦工作室 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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