Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Rhythm

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Rhythm Action RPG?

Action RPG + Rhythm

Of 22 developers who shipped a Rhythm 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.. 28 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $840, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 28 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper, while revenue is up 525% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 525% on the market, 28 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Rhythm
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: $4.5k → $479 → $8.2k → $1.0k → $1.8k → $10k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Rhythm: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $839 (exactly $839)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,992)
Top 5% $59k (exactly $58,771)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 71
Announced 28
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 up 525% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Rhythm
effort 3 / 10 · medium · audio sync, timing precision and music rights

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Action RPG, Rhythm; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, RPG
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 2,589 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $840, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $58k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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 PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY 2025 · $1.9M No Straight Roads: Encore Edition 2021 · $1.4M FIGHT KNIGHT 2021 · $928k Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure 2015 · $207k
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
PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY $29.99 2,091 83% 63k $1.9M (exactly $1,881,273) SAS CO.,LTD.
No Straight Roads: Encore Edition older $24.99 1,813 89% 54k $1.4M (exactly $1,359,206) Metronomik
FIGHT KNIGHT older $19.99 1,547 91% 46k $928k (exactly $927,736) Team Sorcerobe
Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure older $9.99 692 91% 21k $207k (exactly $207,392) Nihon Falcom, Mastiff
Steel Century Groove $19.99 98 94% 2.9k $59k (exactly $58,771) Sloth Gloss Games
Ark Mobius older $4.99 325 89% 9.8k $49k (exactly $48,652) YellowDuckWorks
Ultimate Drummer $5.99 170 98% 5.1k $31k (exactly $30,549) Cool 3D World
DesktopMMD3:Miss Fish older $3.99 245 71% 7.4k $29k (exactly $29,326) XDesktopSoft
Slash or Die older $4.99 150 84% 4.5k $22k (exactly $22,455) ClickGames
The Shaman's Ark $9.99 47 97% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,086) Amortiz Games
Soulbound Roguelike $9.99 34 82% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) DuDu Games
Tides of The Endless · EA $7.99 25 84% 750 $6.0k (exactly $5,992) Shimmer High Sea
カンフービート $3.99 17 100% 510 $2.0k (exactly $2,035) ブルーオニキス
Popcorn Popstars · EA $4.99 13 92% 390 $1.9k (exactly $1,946) ROGUE6
MEMOLOGY: Absurd racing $0.99 59 94% 1.8k $1.8k (exactly $1,752) Piece Of Voxel, Gamesforfarm
MEMOLOGY: ESCAPE OF MEMES $0.99 35 91% 1.1k $1.0k (exactly $1,040) Gamesforfarm, Piece Of Voxel

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