Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Space
Should I ship a Space Action RPG?
Action RPG + Space
Of 71 developers who shipped a Space 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.. 181 more are announced, ×4.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180. 181 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.9 per shipper, while revenue is down 85% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $898 (exactly $898) |
| Top 25% | $24k (exactly $23,834) |
| Top 5% | $788k (exactly $788,203) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 71 |
| Released games | 248 |
| Announced | 181 |
| 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 85% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, 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
- Space
- 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; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Adventure
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 63% positive over 73,434 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 40 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 181 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action RPG with a different setting or mood, 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
Starfield 2023 · $173M 
Borderlands 4 2025 · $122M 
Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition 2021 · $112M 
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel 2014 · $38M 
Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr 2018 · $29M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Starfield | older | $49.99 | 115,202 58% | 3.5M | $173M (exactly $172,768,439) | Bethesda Game Studios |
| | Borderlands 4 | $69.99 | 57,874 59% | 1.7M | $122M (exactly $121,518,038) | Gearbox Software | |
| | Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition | older | $59.99 | 62,205 91% | 1.9M | $112M (exactly $111,950,338) | BioWare |
| | Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel | older | $39.99 | 31,771 79% | 953k | $38M (exactly $38,115,669) | 2K Australia, Gearbox Software, Aspyr (… (2K Australia, Gearbox Software, Aspyr (Linux)) |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr | older | $49.99 | 19,552 75% | 587k | $29M (exactly $29,322,134) | NeocoreGames |
 | Mass Effect™: Andromeda Deluxe Edition | older | $39.99 | 16,741 73% | 502k | $20M (exactly $20,084,178) | BioWare |
 | EVERSPACE™ 2 | older | $49.99 | 12,040 85% | 361k | $18M (exactly $18,056,388) | ROCKFISH Games |
 | The Outer Worlds 2 | $69.99 | 8,450 73% | 254k | $18M (exactly $17,742,465) | Obsidian Entertainment | |
 | Mass Effect (2007) | older | $29.99 | 14,871 93% | 446k | $13M (exactly $13,379,439) | BioWare |
 | Avorion | older | $24.99 | 13,001 90% | 390k | $9.7M (exactly $9,746,850) | Boxelware |
 | Voidling Bound | $24.99 | 3,126 92% | 94k | $2.3M (exactly $2,343,562) | Hatchery Games | |
 | Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection | $39.99 | 657 96% | 20k | $788k (exactly $788,203) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
 | Reality Break | $24.99 | 683 80% | 20k | $512k (exactly $512,045) | Element Games, LLC | |
 | Moon Mystery | $19.99 | 551 67% | 17k | $330k (exactly $330,435) | Cosmoscouts | |
 | Eventide Matter | $5.99 | 927 95% | 28k | $167k (exactly $166,582) | Ottropi Games | |
 | EDENS ZERO | $59.99 | 92 80% | 2.8k | $166k (exactly $165,572) | KONAMI | |
 | Entropy Survivors | $9.99 | 487 80% | 15k | $146k (exactly $145,954) | Moving Pieces Interactive | |
 | Astroloot | · EA | $6.99 | 587 92% | 18k | $123k (exactly $123,094) | Andreas Hager Gaming |
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.