Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Puzzle Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Platformer Action RPG?

Action RPG + Puzzle Platformer

Of 48 developers who shipped a Puzzle Platformer 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.. 123 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $390, ×0.3 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60. 123 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper, while revenue is up 1950% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 1950% on the market, 123 announced, ×4.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Puzzle Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 48
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $450 → $240 → $2.9k → $2.5k → $239 → $210 → $2.4k (still earning) → $3.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Puzzle Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 48
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $390 (exactly $390)
Top 25% $4.3k (exactly $4,287)
Top 5% $151k (exactly $150,650)
Developers, 2 yr 48
Released games 145
Announced 123
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 1950% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Puzzle Platformer
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, Puzzle Platformer; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Platformer, 2D Platformer, Action
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 10,190 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $390, 1 in 4 over $4.2k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. All of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 123 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper.

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. + 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

Farever 2026 · EA · $5.4M Hob 2017 · $2.8M HAAK 2022 · $1.7M Dungeons of Hinterberg 2024 · $1.7M UNSIGHTED 2021 · $1.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Farever · EA $19.99 8,968 75% 269k $5.4M (exactly $5,378,110) Shiro Games
Hob older $19.99 4,667 88% 140k $2.8M (exactly $2,798,800) Runic Games
HAAK older $17.99 3,149 89% 94k $1.7M (exactly $1,699,515) Blingame
Dungeons of Hinterberg older $22.99 2,403 93% 72k $1.7M (exactly $1,657,349) Microbird Games
UNSIGHTED older $19.99 1,863 93% 56k $1.1M (exactly $1,117,241) Studio Pixel Punk
KAKU: Ancient Seal older $24.99 806 79% 24k $604k (exactly $604,258) BINGOBELL
RUBATO $19.99 441 97% 13k $264k (exactly $264,468) dconn
Ary and the Secret of Seasons older $39.99 134 64% 4.0k $161k (exactly $160,760) eXiin, Fishing Cactus
Planet Lust $14.99 335 76% 10k $151k (exactly $150,650) Skullgear
Lumione older $11.99 418 73% 13k $150k (exactly $150,355) Glimmer Studio
Beyond the Ice Palace 2 $19.99 77 63% 2.3k $46k (exactly $46,177) STORYBIRD Studio
Aggelos 2 $19.99 61 73% 1.8k $37k (exactly $36,582) WONDERBOY BOBI
Ultimate Drummer $5.99 170 98% 5.1k $31k (exactly $30,549) Cool 3D World
Lustful Victor $14.99 49 61% 1.5k $22k (exactly $22,035) NeonByteStudio
Get Up In The Night $6.99 52 98% 1.6k $11k (exactly $10,904) GUITN Studio
The Myth of a Godslayer $19.99 18 100% 540 $11k (exactly $10,795) Team EZ
Nightfall Empress $14.99 19 84% 570 $8.5k (exactly $8,544) SEEP

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