Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Score Attack Action RPG?

Action RPG + Score Attack

Of 68 developers who shipped a Score Attack 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.. 85 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×2.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $590k, ×398 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 85 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 85 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 68
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.6k → $20k → $2.9k → $1.9k → $5.4k → $179 → $1.4k (still earning) → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 68
Bottom 30% $208 (exactly $208)
Median $3.1k (exactly $3,112)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $17,083)
Top 5% $597k (exactly $596,501)
Developers, 2 yr 68
Released games 161
Announced 85
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 down 45% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Score Attack
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, Score Attack; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 49,538 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $3.1k, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $590k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 85 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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

Vampire Survivors 2022 · $38M Soulstone Survivors 2025 · $12M Yet Another Zombie Survivors 2026 · $6.4M Temtem: Swarm 2026 · $969k Boneraiser Minions 2023 · $744k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Vampire Survivors older $4.99 251,686 98% 7.6M $38M (exactly $37,677,394) poncle
Soulstone Survivors $14.99 25,749 91% 772k $12M (exactly $11,579,325) Game Smithing Limited
Yet Another Zombie Survivors $14.99 14,123 91% 424k $6.4M (exactly $6,351,113) Awesome Games Studio
Temtem: Swarm $12.99 2,487 77% 75k $969k (exactly $969,184) Crema, GGTech Studios
Boneraiser Minions older $4.99 4,967 96% 149k $744k (exactly $743,560) caiys
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny $29.99 663 85% 20k $597k (exactly $596,501) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Bounty of One older $6.99 2,749 88% 82k $576k (exactly $576,465) OptizOnion
Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity older $14.99 1,219 91% 37k $548k (exactly $548,184) Ankake Spa
NIMRODS · EA $9.99 1,783 85% 53k $534k (exactly $534,365) Fiveamp
FatalZone $6.99 2,125 66% 64k $446k (exactly $445,612) Midhard Games
Funguys Swarm $9.99 1,114 89% 33k $334k (exactly $333,866) Stairway Games
Sodaman $7.99 738 78% 22k $177k (exactly $176,899) Tape Corps
Entropy Survivors $9.99 487 80% 15k $146k (exactly $145,954) Moving Pieces Interactive
Shape Shifter: Formations $14.99 269 91% 8.1k $121k (exactly $120,969) Castec Studios

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