Do I ship it?

GamesAction RPGAction RPG + Steampunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Steampunk Action RPG?

Action RPG + Steampunk

Only 19 developers shipped a Steampunk Action RPG in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Kristala, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 61 more are announced, ×6.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.0k, ×4.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $580k, ×388 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 61 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 61 announced, ×6.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Steampunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $13k → $15k → $2.9k (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Steampunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $6.0k (exactly $5,992)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $20,679)
Top 5% $582k (exactly $581,854)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 58
Announced 61
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 95% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Steampunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Combat
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 1,516 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $6.0k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $580k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action RPG with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lies of P older $59.99 58,411 91% 1.8M $105M (exactly $105,122,277) NEOWIZ
Torchlight II older $19.99 33,094 92% 993k $20M (exactly $19,846,472) Runic Games
Torchlight III older $39.99 10,401 47% 312k $12M (exactly $12,478,080) Echtra Inc.
BioShock® 2 older $19.99 11,467 88% 344k $6.9M (exactly $6,876,760) 2K Marin, 2K China, Digital Extremes, 2… (2K Marin, 2K China, Digital Extremes, 2K Australia)
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing older $14.99 7,720 83% 232k $3.5M (exactly $3,471,684) NeocoreGames
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut older $44.99 1,959 76% 59k $2.6M (exactly $2,644,062) NeocoreGames
Torchlight older $14.99 5,462 90% 164k $2.5M (exactly $2,456,261) Runic Games
Victor Vran ARPG older $19.99 3,708 84% 111k $2.2M (exactly $2,223,688) Haemimont Games
Deathtrap older $19.99 1,858 84% 56k $1.1M (exactly $1,114,243) NeocoreGames
Little Noah: Scion of Paradise older $14.99 2,172 92% 65k $977k (exactly $976,748) Cygames, Inc., Grounding Inc.
Kristala $39.99 485 71% 15k $582k (exactly $581,854) Astral Clocktower Studios
Castle Of Alchemists $14.99 618 80% 19k $278k (exactly $277,915) Team Machiavelli
Last Vanguard $14.99 77 81% 2.3k $35k (exactly $34,627) Cool Tapir Studios
Driveloop: Survivors · EA $9.99 96 76% 2.9k $29k (exactly $28,771) Stunbyte
Machine Tower 2984 $9.99 69 86% 2.1k $21k (exactly $20,679) 打螺丝游戏工作室
Void Sails $9.99 49 69% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,685) Ticking Clock Games
Luminaria: Dark Echoes $9.99 30 86% 900 $9.0k (exactly $8,991) Enthariel Games
StellaGale: The Trials Of Faith · EA $9.99 29 96% 870 $8.7k (exactly $8,691) Extra Life Entertainment, Vifth Floor
City of Springs $6.99 38 86% 1.1k $8.0k (exactly $7,969) The Naked Dev, Alterego Games
Augmented Empire $7.99 25 88% 750 $6.0k (exactly $5,992) Coatsink

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