Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Top-Down Shooter
Should I ship a Top-Down Shooter Action RPG?
Action RPG + Top-Down Shooter
Of 138 developers who shipped a Top-Down Shooter 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.. 253 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 $2.0k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $440k, ×297 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 253 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.0k (exactly $2,035) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $14,390) |
| Top 5% | $446k (exactly $445,612) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 138 |
| Released games | 395 |
| Announced | 253 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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: 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
- Top-Down Shooter
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Action RPG, Top-Down Shooter; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 30,934 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 79 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 253 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action RPG with a different second tag, 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
The Ascent 2021 · $17M 
Darksiders Genesis 2019 · $9.3M 
Yet Another Zombie Survivors 2026 · $6.4M 
The Last Stand: Aftermath 2021 · $4.6M 
Starcom: Unknown Space 2024 · $3.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Ascent | older | $29.99 | 19,235 74% | 577k | $17M (exactly $17,305,730) | Neon Giant |
| | Darksiders Genesis | older | $29.99 | 10,379 82% | 311k | $9.3M (exactly $9,337,986) | Airship Syndicate |
| | Yet Another Zombie Survivors | $14.99 | 14,123 91% | 424k | $6.4M (exactly $6,351,113) | Awesome Games Studio | |
| | The Last Stand: Aftermath | older | $24.99 | 6,096 80% | 183k | $4.6M (exactly $4,570,171) | Con Artist Games |
| | Starcom: Unknown Space | older | $24.99 | 4,464 92% | 134k | $3.3M (exactly $3,346,661) | Wx3 Labs, LLC |
 | Killsquad | older | $29.99 | 2,839 71% | 85k | $2.6M (exactly $2,554,248) | Novarama |
 | Nine Parchments | older | $19.99 | 4,123 77% | 124k | $2.5M (exactly $2,472,563) | Frozenbyte |
 | Star Valor | older | $24.99 | 3,272 88% | 98k | $2.5M (exactly $2,453,018) | Rafael Burgos |
 | Tower of Babel: Survivors of Chaos | $12.99 | 6,281 68% | 188k | $2.4M (exactly $2,447,706) | NANOO | |
 | Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok | older | $9.99 | 6,180 88% | 185k | $1.9M (exactly $1,852,146) | Noxfall Studios |
 | R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program | $14.99 | 2,727 76% | 82k | $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332) | WarmCore Studio | |
 | Relic Hunters Legend | $19.99 | 1,101 65% | 33k | $660k (exactly $660,270) | Rogue Snail | |
 | Arms of God | · EA | $11.50 | 1,871 88% | 56k | $645k (exactly $645,495) | Dark Jay Studio |
 | Reality Break | $24.99 | 683 80% | 20k | $512k (exactly $512,045) | Element Games, LLC | |
 | FatalZone | $6.99 | 2,125 66% | 64k | $446k (exactly $445,612) | Midhard Games | |
 | Dinotica | $17.99 | 746 86% | 22k | $403k (exactly $402,616) | XA Studio | |
 | RIFTSTORM | · EA | $14.99 | 659 70% | 20k | $296k (exactly $296,352) | Confiction Labs, Agate |
 | Castle Of Alchemists | $14.99 | 618 80% | 19k | $278k (exactly $277,915) | Team Machiavelli |
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.