Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Racing

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Racing Action RPG?

Action RPG + Racing

Of 22 developers who shipped a Racing 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.. 45 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $120 in the last 2 years and $220 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 11 developers shipped in the last year and 45 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 45 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Racing
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $599 → $218 → $120 → $599 → $0 → $59 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Racing: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $120 (exactly $120)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,726)
Top 5% $12k (exactly $11,696)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 119
Announced 45
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 10% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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
Racing
effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle handling, track content and opponent AI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Action RPG, Racing; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action, Driving
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Cartoony, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 264 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 $120, 1 in 4 over $2.7k, 1 in 20 over $11k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 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

Yakuza 5 Remastered 2021 · $3.7M Disney•Pixar Cars 2: The Video Game 2014 · $582k Duck Life 9: The Flock 2024 · $57k Neon Tail 2024 · $52k Precursors 2017 · $32k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Yakuza 5 Remastered older $19.99 6,199 88% 186k $3.7M (exactly $3,717,540) RGG Studio
Disney•Pixar Cars 2: The Video Game older $19.99 970 79% 29k $582k (exactly $581,709) Avalanche Software
Duck Life 9: The Flock older $9.99 190 83% 5.7k $57k (exactly $56,943) Wix Games
Neon Tail older $24.99 70 81% 2.1k $52k (exactly $52,479) Fei, Leo, Yang
Precursors older $14.99 72 76% 2.2k $32k (exactly $32,378) Deep Shadows
RoadOut $14.99 34 97% 1.0k $15k (exactly $15,290) Rastrolabs Game Studio
WarOfGods 2 $29.99 13 76% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Mensa World
Code Velocity $2.99 99 100% 3.0k $8.9k (exactly $8,880) STIM GAMES
Lunatic Taxi Driver older $19.99 14 85% 420 $8.4k (exactly $8,396) Gamesforgames
Meddl Dash older $0.99 218 98% 6.5k $6.5k (exactly $6,475) Rainer Zufall
Combat Kart $12.99 14 100% 420 $5.5k (exactly $5,456) 01Game
Echobreaker $8.99 12 100% 360 $3.2k (exactly $3,236) Upstream Arcade
Starfield Battlegrounds $6.99 13 69% 390 $2.7k (exactly $2,726) 谭浩翔
MEMOLOGY: Absurd racing $0.99 59 94% 1.8k $1.8k (exactly $1,752) Piece Of Voxel, Gamesforfarm
Carnage Kart X · EA $4.99 11 90% 330 $1.6k (exactly $1,647) Two Brain Games
WorldShadow $4.99 4 50% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Jotar, Jotar
Drone Strike: Engineer Simulator · EA $1.19 5 80% 150 $178 (exactly $178) Bazura Games

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