Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Turn-Based Tactics

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Turn-Based Tactics Action RPG?

Action RPG + Turn-Based Tactics

Of 66 developers who shipped a Turn-Based Tactics 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.. 122 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $390 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 30 developers shipped in the last year and 122 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 122 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Turn-Based Tactics
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 66
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $1.8k → $599 → $299 → $360 → $270 → $299 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Turn-Based Tactics: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 66
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,838)
Top 5% $1.2M (exactly $1,152,289)
Developers, 2 yr 66
Released games 205
Announced 122
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 up 10% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Turn-Based Tactics
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, Turn-Based Tactics; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Strategy
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 79,259 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $300, 1 in 4 over $3.8k, 1 in 20 over $1.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. Nearly all of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 122 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 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

Dragon Age™: The Veilguard 2024 · $74M Metaphor: ReFantazio 2024 · $53M Wandering Sword 2023 · $28M Sora no Kiseki the 1st 2025 · $9.4M Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter 2025 · $8.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dragon Age™: The Veilguard $59.99 41,393 67% 1.2M $74M (exactly $74,494,982) BioWare
Metaphor: ReFantazio $69.99 25,224 89% 757k $53M (exactly $52,962,833) ATLUS
Wandering Sword older $24.99 37,034 94% 1.1M $28M (exactly $27,764,390) The Swordman Studio
Sora no Kiseki the 1st $59.99 5,205 97% 156k $9.4M (exactly $9,367,438) Nihon Falcom
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter $59.99 4,650 95% 140k $8.4M (exactly $8,368,605) Nihon Falcom
SteamWorld Heist II older $29.99 2,201 93% 66k $2.0M (exactly $1,980,240) Thunderful Development
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.)
Escape from Ever After $24.99 1,537 96% 46k $1.2M (exactly $1,152,289) Sleepy Castle Studio, Wing-It! Creative
Classified: France '44 older $39.99 844 70% 25k $1.0M (exactly $1,012,547) Absolutely Games
Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society older $49.99 553 82% 17k $829k (exactly $829,334) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection $39.99 657 96% 20k $788k (exactly $788,203) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter $59.99 171 97% 5.1k $308k (exactly $307,749) Nihon Falcom
Entropy · EA $11.99 293 94% 8.8k $105k (exactly $105,392) Lovely Hellplace
Away From Home $17.99 70 70% 2.1k $38k (exactly $37,779) Squishy, Cameron Smith-Randick
Sin Slayers: Reign of The 8th $19.99 59 64% 1.8k $35k (exactly $35,382) Goonswarm Games

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