Do I ship it?

GamesAction RPGAction RPG + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological Action RPG?

Action RPG + Psychological

Of 31 developers who shipped a Psychological 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.. 61 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 20 developers shipped in the last year and 61 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 61 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $239 → $539 → $2.7k → $0 (still earning) → $65k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $6.3k (exactly $6,294)
Top 5% $876k (exactly $875,562)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 58
Announced 61
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 flat on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Psychological
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $22.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Surreal, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $22.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 3,604 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $450, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $870k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action RPG with a different setting or mood, 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
Total Chaos $24.99 1,561 86% 47k $1.2M (exactly $1,170,282) Trigger Happy Interactive
The Lantern of the Laughless Saint · EA $19.99 1,460 89% 44k $876k (exactly $875,562) NerveLabs
Fearmonium older $12.99 514 85% 15k $200k (exactly $200,306) Redblack Spade
Strain Tactics older $14.99 214 87% 6.4k $96k (exactly $96,236) Touch Dimensions Interactive
Hariti $6.99 318 88% 9.5k $67k (exactly $66,685) Ghostcase
螢幕判官 Behind the Screen older $8.99 246 82% 7.4k $66k (exactly $66,346) 18Light Game Ltd.
The Thing That Happened $22.99 94 57% 2.8k $65k (exactly $64,832) Mario Murkl, Zoltán Árva
Killer: Infected One of Us older $6.99 196 52% 5.9k $41k (exactly $41,101) DreamTeamGames
Void Sails $9.99 49 69% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,685) Ticking Clock Games
Mind Control: Bloody Renaissance $9.99 29 100% 870 $8.7k (exactly $8,691) BYYONI Entertainment
Journey of the Garden Rose $11.99 18 77% 540 $6.5k (exactly $6,475) Renegade Sector Games
Isla Hearts $9.99 21 76% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) Isla Systems
Day Zero · EA $4.99 39 79% 1.2k $5.8k (exactly $5,838) Imdie Studios
P4ST3L · EA $5.99 15 53% 450 $2.7k (exactly $2,696) UsaginO

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