Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + RTS

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an RTS Action RPG?

Action RPG + RTS

Of 29 developers who shipped an RTS 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.. 69 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 69 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper, while revenue is up 750% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 750% on the market, 69 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + RTS
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $0 → $539 → $9.0k → $5.1k → $60 → $4.0k → $2.8k (still earning) → $32k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + RTS: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,840)
Top 5% $249k (exactly $249,444)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 123
Announced 69
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 750% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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
RTS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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, RTS; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Strategy, Strategy RPG
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 2,301 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 $600, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 69 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 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

Kenshi 2018 · $89M Wandering Sword 2023 · $28M The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M Brutal Legend 2013 · $5.1M ZeroSpace 2026 · EA · $1.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Kenshi older $29.99 98,451 95% 3.0M $89M (exactly $88,576,365) Lo-Fi Games
Wandering Sword older $24.99 37,034 94% 1.1M $28M (exactly $27,764,390) The Swordman Studio
The Riftbreaker older $29.99 22,127 90% 664k $20M (exactly $19,907,662) EXOR Studios
Brutal Legend older $14.99 11,365 94% 341k $5.1M (exactly $5,110,840) Double Fine Productions
ZeroSpace · EA $39.99 1,161 78% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852) Starlance Studios, Ironward
Overlord II older $9.99 4,002 89% 120k $1.2M (exactly $1,199,399) Triumph Studios
Overlord™ older $4.99 5,007 94% 150k $750k (exactly $749,548) Triumph Studios
Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders older $19.99 1,045 91% 31k $627k (exactly $626,686) Blueside
Overlord™: Raising Hell older $9.99 1,994 92% 60k $598k (exactly $597,602) Triumph Studios
We Are The Dwarves older $14.99 1,072 75% 32k $482k (exactly $482,078) Whale Rock Games
Rise of Piracy · EA $15.99 520 77% 16k $249k (exactly $249,444) IrishJohnGames
Wartorn $34.99 130 73% 3.9k $136k (exactly $136,461) Stray Kite Studios
Touhou Spell Carnival $49.99 49 77% 1.5k $73k (exactly $73,485) Idea Factory, Compile Heart, STING
XiuzhenWorld2 $12.99 134 67% 4.0k $52k (exactly $52,220) Noforgetit
WARSHIFT 2 $19.99 54 70% 1.6k $32k (exactly $32,384) Cyril Megem
Destroy! Mosaic! $4.99 135 77% 4.1k $20k (exactly $20,210) 悠悠幽靈工作室
Chaos Entropy $11.00 48 89% 1.4k $16k (exactly $15,840) MILLIDIA
Divinity Vassals $11.99 36 75% 1.1k $13k (exactly $12,949) Yi
Pass Tiger Cage · EA $6.99 34 61% 1.0k $7.1k (exactly $7,130) 中军MT

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