Do I ship it?

GamesAction RPGAction RPG + Tactical

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tactical Action RPG?

Action RPG + Tactical

Of 83 developers who shipped a Tactical 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, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $660, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 181 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper, while revenue is down 25% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 181 announced, ×4.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Tactical
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 83
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $4.6k → $16k → $899 → $898 → $1.6k → $449 (still earning) → $75 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Tactical: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 83
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $659 (exactly $659)
Top 25% $7.1k (exactly $7,130)
Top 5% $340k (exactly $340,030)
Developers, 2 yr 83
Released games 228
Announced 181
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 25% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Tactical
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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, Tactical; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Strategy, RPG
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 28,017 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $660, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 52 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 181 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Assassin's Creed® Unity older $29.99 79,116 77% 2.4M $71M (exactly $71,180,665) Ubisoft
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition older $49.99 34,157 83% 1.0M $51M (exactly $51,225,253) Owlcat Games
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS $69.99 19,578 92% 587k $41M (exactly $41,107,927) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Wandering Sword older $24.99 37,034 94% 1.1M $28M (exactly $27,764,390) The Swordman Studio
Transistor older $19.99 27,993 93% 840k $17M (exactly $16,787,402) Supergiant Games
Dungeon Defenders older $14.99 12,148 93% 364k $5.5M (exactly $5,462,956) Chromatic Games
Wasteland 2: Director's Cut older $29.99 4,664 82% 140k $4.2M (exactly $4,196,201) inXile Entertainment
METAL GEAR SOLID 4: Guns of the Patriots - Master Collection Version $29.99 2,315 96% 69k $2.1M (exactly $2,082,806) KONAMI
SteamWorld Heist II older $29.99 2,201 93% 66k $2.0M (exactly $1,980,240) Thunderful Development
PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY $29.99 2,091 83% 63k $1.9M (exactly $1,881,273) SAS CO.,LTD.
Metal Slug Tactics $24.99 1,152 76% 35k $864k (exactly $863,654) Leikir Studio
METAL GEAR SOLID: Peace Walker - Master Collection Version $19.99 925 79% 28k $555k (exactly $554,722) KONAMI
Machine Mind $19.99 567 71% 17k $340k (exactly $340,030) Chudo-Yudo Games
FAIRY TAIL 2 $59.99 162 61% 4.9k $292k (exactly $291,551) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Castle Of Alchemists $14.99 618 80% 19k $278k (exactly $277,915) Team Machiavelli
Pebble Knights · EA $9.99 479 76% 14k $144k (exactly $143,556) 51% Games
Wartorn $34.99 130 73% 3.9k $136k (exactly $136,461) Stray Kite Studios

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