Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Simulation
Should I ship a Simulation Action RPG?
Action RPG + Simulation
Of 193 developers who shipped a Simulation 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.. 384 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 $690, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180. 384 games are announced against 107 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper, while revenue is down 10% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $693 (exactly $693) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $10,795) |
| Top 5% | $558k (exactly $557,777) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 193 |
| Released games | 651 |
| Announced | 384 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Action RPG, Simulation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action, Adventure
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 30,901 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 121 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 384 games are announced against 107 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + NavalFair
- + Local Co-OpFair
- + WesternFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + Walking SimulatorLong shot
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal | older | $19.99 | 190,184 56% | 5.7M | $114M (exactly $114,053,345) | 鬼谷工作室 |
| | Kenshi | older | $29.99 | 98,451 95% | 3.0M | $89M (exactly $88,576,365) | Lo-Fi Games |
| | Assassin's Creed® Unity | older | $29.99 | 79,116 77% | 2.4M | $71M (exactly $71,180,665) | Ubisoft |
| | Maneater | older | $39.99 | 21,790 87% | 654k | $26M (exactly $26,141,463) | Tripwire Interactive |
| | Persona® 5 Strikers | older | $59.99 | 12,864 88% | 386k | $23M (exactly $23,151,341) | ATLUS |
| | EVERSPACE™ 2 | older | $49.99 | 12,040 85% | 361k | $18M (exactly $18,056,388) | ROCKFISH Games |
| | Moonlighter | older | $19.99 | 17,286 82% | 519k | $10M (exactly $10,366,414) | Digital Sun |
| | Avorion | older | $24.99 | 13,001 90% | 390k | $9.7M (exactly $9,746,850) | Boxelware |
| | ASKA | · EA older | $24.99 | 10,457 79% | 314k | $7.8M (exactly $7,839,613) | Sand Sailor Studio |
| | VEIN | · EA | $19.99 | 11,539 87% | 346k | $6.9M (exactly $6,919,938) | Ramjet Studios |
| | Heroes' Vow: Three Kingdoms | · EA | $19.99 | 6,652 88% | 200k | $4.0M (exactly $3,989,204) | Free Wing |
| | Promise Mascot Agency | $24.99 | 2,569 96% | 77k | $1.9M (exactly $1,925,979) | Kaizen Game Works | |
| | Mirthwood | $24.99 | 2,242 69% | 67k | $1.7M (exactly $1,680,827) | Bad Ridge Games | |
| | WolfQuest: Classic | $29.99 | 1,401 90% | 42k | $1.3M (exactly $1,260,480) | eduweb | |
| | JIANGHU CHRONICLES | $17.99 | 2,046 70% | 61k | $1.1M (exactly $1,104,226) | 一品阁 | |
| | Duel Corp. | · EA | $24.99 | 1,251 71% | 38k | $938k (exactly $937,875) | Dreameffect Entertainment |
| | Return from Core | $16.99 | 1,620 75% | 49k | $826k (exactly $825,714) | 顽核社 FuncoreClub | |
| | Shin chan: Shiro and the Coal Town | $29.99 | 837 95% | 25k | $753k (exactly $753,049) | h.a.n.d., Inc. | |
| | Noble Legacy | · EA | $24.99 | 744 70% | 22k | $558k (exactly $557,777) | Ultimus Rex LLC |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.