Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up Action RPG?

Action RPG + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 86 developers who shipped a Shoot 'Em Up 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.. 126 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $630, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 126 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper, while revenue is down 90% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 126 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 86
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $987 → $2.2k → $1.2k → $539 → $5.1k → $449 → $148 (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 86
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $629 (exactly $629)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,136)
Top 5% $256k (exactly $256,106)
Developers, 2 yr 86
Released games 295
Announced 126
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 90% on the market, supply 30% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Shoot 'Em Up
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, Shoot 'Em Up; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, Pixel Graphics
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 79% positive over 10,088 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 $630, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 59 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 126 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 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

Nova Drift 2024 · $7.0M Zombotron 2019 · $1.3M R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program 2026 · $1.2M I Am Legion: Stand Survivors 2025 · $656k Bounty of One 2023 · $576k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Nova Drift older $17.99 12,975 95% 389k $7.0M (exactly $7,002,607) Chimeric
Zombotron older $14.99 2,974 89% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,337,408) Ant.Karlov Games
R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program $14.99 2,727 76% 82k $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332) WarmCore Studio
I Am Legion: Stand Survivors $8.99 2,432 82% 73k $656k (exactly $655,910) JA Game Studio
Bounty of One older $6.99 2,749 88% 82k $576k (exactly $576,465) OptizOnion
Sexy Mystic Survivors · EA older $9.99 1,856 75% 56k $556k (exactly $556,243) Fantasize Games
Reality Break $24.99 683 80% 20k $512k (exactly $512,045) Element Games, LLC
Alien Shooter 2 - The Legend older $14.99 1,087 52% 33k $489k (exactly $488,824) Sigma Team Inc.
Time Wasters older $4.99 2,549 88% 76k $382k (exactly $381,585) Proton Studio
Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded older $4.99 2,517 92% 76k $377k (exactly $376,795) Sigma Team Inc.
Castle Of Alchemists $14.99 618 80% 19k $278k (exactly $277,915) Team Machiavelli
Crafty Survivors $11.99 712 83% 21k $256k (exactly $256,106) Flannel Bear Games
Slime 3K: Rise Against Despot $4.99 1,584 79% 48k $237k (exactly $237,125) Konfa Games
Shape Shifter: Formations $14.99 269 91% 8.1k $121k (exactly $120,969) Castec Studios
Endless Forest Dream $8.99 362 77% 11k $98k (exactly $97,631) Seeking-chan
Time Treker $6.99 399 65% 12k $84k (exactly $83,670) Fuse Game
Soulforge Lost Path $8.99 302 69% 9.1k $81k (exactly $81,449) Ziyue

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