Do I ship it?

GamesAction RPGAction RPG + Time Travel

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time-Travel Action RPG?

Action RPG + Time Travel

Only 12 developers shipped a Time-Travel 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, Ascend to ZERO, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 31 more are announced, ×6.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.1k, ×3.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×208 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 31 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 31 announced, ×6.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Time Travel
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $1.3k → $41k → $5.1k → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Time Travel: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $5.1k (exactly $5,066)
Top 25% $84k (exactly $83,670)
Top 5% $312k (exactly $311,860)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 46
Announced 31
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.99

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 80% on the market, supply 30% 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
Time Travel
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Price point
$8.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 9 games average 81% positive over 1,926 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $5.1k, 1 in 4 over $83k, 1 in 20 over $310k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.2 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
Last Epoch older $34.99 106,364 76% 3.2M $112M (exactly $111,650,291) Eleventh Hour Games
ASTLIBRA Revision older $24.99 30,262 95% 908k $23M (exactly $22,687,421) KEIZO
FINAL FANTASY® XIII-2 older $19.99 5,136 58% 154k $3.1M (exactly $3,080,059) Square Enix
Evoland 2 older $19.99 1,843 88% 55k $1.1M (exactly $1,105,247) Shiro Games
Omensight: Definitive Edition older $19.99 1,174 88% 35k $704k (exactly $704,048) Spearhead Games
Ascend to ZERO $11.99 867 82% 26k $312k (exactly $311,860) Flyway Games, Inc.
Time Warpers older $19.99 493 82% 15k $296k (exactly $295,652) Proton Studio Inc
DragonLoop $8.99 567 91% 17k $153k (exactly $152,920) 沙因, 小阮
Return to abyss 重返深渊 older $4.99 949 79% 28k $142k (exactly $142,065) Wingjoy Games
Time Treker $6.99 399 65% 12k $84k (exactly $83,670) Fuse Game
Temporal Purge: Z $4.99 56 85% 1.7k $8.4k (exactly $8,383) Exec Games
Clockfall · EA $9.99 18 94% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) Rever Games GmbH
Paradox Guardians · EA $12.99 13 38% 390 $5.1k (exactly $5,066) Paraguard
乾坤玺•明 $8.99 2 0% 60 $539 (exactly $539) 玉刃工作室
Timeless Trials $3.99 3 100% 90 $359 (exactly $359) Sea Pig Games
Redshaw Valley · EA $5.99 1 0% 30 $180 (exactly $180) Ian Maines
Genetic Fluff $12.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Growing Brains LLC

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