Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Perma Death
Should I ship a Perma Death Action RPG?
Action RPG + Perma Death
Of 82 developers who shipped a Perma Death 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.. 159 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.9k, ×2.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $350k, ×239 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 159 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) |
| Top 25% | $35k (exactly $35,251) |
| Top 5% | $358k (exactly $358,021) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 82 |
| Released games | 234 |
| Announced | 159 |
| 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 up 45% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, 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
- Perma Death
- 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, Perma Death; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action Roguelike, Action
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Isometric, Atmospheric, Difficult
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 125,975 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 159 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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
Hades 2020 · $214M 
Hades II 2025 · $103M 
The Last Stand: Aftermath 2021 · $4.6M 
SWORN 2025 · $2.8M 
Hell Clock 2025 · $2.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hades | older | $24.99 | 285,748 97% | 8.6M | $214M (exactly $214,225,276) | Supergiant Games |
| | Hades II | $29.99 | 114,419 95% | 3.4M | $103M (exactly $102,942,774) | Supergiant Games | |
| | The Last Stand: Aftermath | older | $24.99 | 6,096 80% | 183k | $4.6M (exactly $4,570,171) | Con Artist Games |
| | SWORN | $24.99 | 3,779 80% | 113k | $2.8M (exactly $2,833,116) | Windwalk Games | |
| | Hell Clock | $19.99 | 3,535 82% | 106k | $2.1M (exactly $2,119,940) | Rogue Snail | |
 | Caveblazers | older | $9.99 | 3,416 86% | 102k | $1.0M (exactly $1,023,775) | Deadpan Games |
 | ELDERBORN | older | $14.99 | 2,229 87% | 67k | $1.0M (exactly $1,002,381) | Hyperstrange |
 | God Of Weapons | older | $5.99 | 4,807 84% | 144k | $864k (exactly $863,818) | Imagine Games |
 | Tempest: Pirate Action RPG | older | $14.99 | 1,778 69% | 53k | $800k (exactly $799,567) | HeroCraft |
 | Spirit Realm | · EA older | $18.18 | 1,379 76% | 41k | $752k (exactly $752,107) | 深圳市灵境互娱科技有限公司 |
 | Spark in the Dark | · EA | $16.99 | 1,174 87% | 35k | $598k (exactly $598,388) | Stellar Fish |
 | Netherworld Covenant | $19.99 | 597 78% | 18k | $358k (exactly $358,021) | MadGoat Game Studio | |
 | Ascend to ZERO | $11.99 | 867 82% | 26k | $312k (exactly $311,860) | Flyway Games, Inc. | |
 | 9th Dawn Remake | $15.99 | 514 86% | 15k | $247k (exactly $246,566) | Valorware | |
 | Shadow of the Depth | $14.99 | 448 69% | 13k | $201k (exactly $201,466) | ChillyRoom | |
 | Starlight Revolver | · EA | $12.99 | 404 54% | 12k | $157k (exactly $157,439) | Pahdo Labs |
 | Tankenstein | · EA | $17.99 | 238 89% | 7.1k | $128k (exactly $128,449) | Landship Games LTD |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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