Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Puzzle
Should I ship a Puzzle Action RPG?
Action RPG + Puzzle
Of 133 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 271 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 271 games are announced against 72 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper, while revenue is flat on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $9.3k (exactly $9,291) |
| Top 5% | $330k (exactly $330,435) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 133 |
| Released games | 393 |
| Announced | 271 |
| 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 20% 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
- Puzzle
- effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Action RPG, Puzzle; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Action
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 32,876 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 78 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 271 games are announced against 72 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 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
Hogwarts Legacy 2023 · $495M 
TUNIC 2022 · $15M 
Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition 2015 · $15M 
Shadows of Doubt 2024 · $11M 
CrossCode 2018 · $9.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hogwarts Legacy | older | $59.99 | 274,801 89% | 8.2M | $495M (exactly $494,559,360) | Avalanche Software |
| | TUNIC | older | $29.99 | 16,692 91% | 501k | $15M (exactly $15,017,792) | TUNIC Team |
| | Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition | older | $29.99 | 16,313 78% | 489k | $15M (exactly $14,676,806) | Gunfire Games, Vigil Games, THQ Nordic |
| | Shadows of Doubt | $24.99 | 14,646 82% | 439k | $11M (exactly $10,980,106) | ColePowered Games | |
| | CrossCode | older | $19.99 | 16,376 92% | 491k | $9.8M (exactly $9,820,687) | Radical Fish Games |
 | Darksiders Genesis | older | $29.99 | 10,379 82% | 311k | $9.3M (exactly $9,337,986) | Airship Syndicate |
 | Darksiders Warmastered Edition | older | $19.99 | 13,942 88% | 418k | $8.4M (exactly $8,361,017) | KAIKO, Vigil Games |
 | Fate Seeker II | older | $22.60 | 11,360 88% | 341k | $7.7M (exactly $7,702,080) | JSL Entertainment |
 | Fate Seeker | older | $21.09 | 11,930 90% | 358k | $7.5M (exactly $7,548,111) | JSL Entertainment |
 | The Killing Antidote | · EA | $29.99 | 7,512 88% | 225k | $6.8M (exactly $6,758,546) | MetalStar Studio |
 | Hell is Us | $49.99 | 4,279 83% | 128k | $6.4M (exactly $6,417,216) | Rogue Factor | |
 | Alabaster Dawn | · EA | $24.99 | 2,168 94% | 65k | $1.6M (exactly $1,625,350) | Radical Fish Games |
 | The Scourge | Tai Ương | $19.99 | 1,192 93% | 36k | $715k (exactly $714,842) | Rare Reversee, Beaztek | |
 | 消失的航班，还有她她她！Lost in the secret! | $19.99 | 602 89% | 18k | $361k (exactly $361,019) | Humongous Pictures | |
 | Moon Mystery | $19.99 | 551 67% | 17k | $330k (exactly $330,435) | Cosmoscouts | |
 | 沙雕之路 | $10.00 | 1,039 96% | 31k | $312k (exactly $311,700) | 馆叔 | |
 | Under The Island | $19.99 | 446 92% | 13k | $267k (exactly $267,466) | Slime King Games | |
 | RUBATO | $19.99 | 441 97% | 13k | $264k (exactly $264,468) | dconn |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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