Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Strategy RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Strategy RPG Action RPG?

Action RPG + Strategy RPG

Of 126 developers who shipped a Strategy RPG 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.. 251 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $810, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 251 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper, while revenue is down 15% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 251 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Strategy RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 126
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.4k → $600 → $2.9k → $1.8k → $1.2k → $356 → $958 (still earning) → $419 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Strategy RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 126
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $809 (exactly $809)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,406)
Top 5% $361k (exactly $361,019)
Developers, 2 yr 126
Released games 386
Announced 251
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 15% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Strategy RPG
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, Strategy RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Action
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

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 39,673 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 $810, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 75 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 251 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 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

鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal 2023 · $114M Kenshi 2018 · $89M Metaphor: ReFantazio 2024 · $53M SCARLET NEXUS 2021 · $25M The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M
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
Metaphor: ReFantazio $69.99 25,224 89% 757k $53M (exactly $52,962,833) ATLUS
SCARLET NEXUS older $59.99 13,749 81% 412k $25M (exactly $24,744,075) BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc.
The Riftbreaker older $29.99 22,127 90% 664k $20M (exactly $19,907,662) EXOR Studios
Dungeon Defenders older $14.99 12,148 93% 364k $5.5M (exactly $5,462,956) Chromatic Games
Heroes' Vow: Three Kingdoms · EA $19.99 6,652 88% 200k $4.0M (exactly $3,989,204) Free Wing
Swords & Souls: Neverseen older $14.99 6,077 93% 182k $2.7M (exactly $2,732,827) SoulGame Studio
Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless older $59.99 913 74% 27k $1.6M (exactly $1,643,126) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc., Systemsoft… (Nippon Ichi Software, Inc., Systemsoft beta, Inc.)
ZeroSpace · EA $39.99 1,161 78% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852) Starlance Studios, Ironward
Metal Slug Tactics $24.99 1,152 76% 35k $864k (exactly $863,654) Leikir Studio
再刷一把2：金色传说 $9.99 2,748 44% 82k $824k (exactly $823,576) 滑稽工作室
Huaxia: Warring States · EA $19.99 701 61% 21k $420k (exactly $420,390) 秦川汉渚
消失的航班，还有她她她！Lost in the secret! $19.99 602 89% 18k $361k (exactly $361,019) Humongous Pictures
Machine Mind $19.99 567 71% 17k $340k (exactly $340,030) Chudo-Yudo Games
Guidus Zero $14.99 609 75% 18k $274k (exactly $273,867) izzle
Godslayer Arena · EA $14.99 257 76% 7.7k $116k (exactly $115,573) Hippo Rider Games

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