Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Twin Stick Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Twin Stick Shooter Action RPG?

Action RPG + Twin Stick Shooter

Of 52 developers who shipped a Twin Stick 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.. 96 more are announced, ×5.1 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 $2.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $960k, ×647 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 96 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 96 announced, ×5.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Twin Stick Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 52
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.3k → $3.1k → $7.9k → $5.4k → $41k → $20k → $3.1k (still earning) → $4.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Twin Stick Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 52
Bottom 30% $2.0k (exactly $2,035)
Median $5.1k (exactly $5,095)
Top 25% $76k (exactly $75,602)
Top 5% $969k (exactly $969,184)
Developers, 2 yr 52
Released games 159
Announced 96
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 50% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Twin Stick Shooter
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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, Twin Stick Shooter; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Bullet Hell, Action Roguelike
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 37,220 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.1k, median $5.1k, 1 in 4 over $75k, 1 in 20 over $960k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.1k. 6 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 96 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.1 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

The Ascent 2021 · $17M Bastion 2011 · $13M Soulstone Survivors 2025 · $12M Darksiders Genesis 2019 · $9.3M Killsquad 2021 · $2.6M
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
Bastion older $14.99 28,223 95% 847k $13M (exactly $12,691,883) Supergiant Games
Soulstone Survivors $14.99 25,749 91% 772k $12M (exactly $11,579,325) Game Smithing Limited
Darksiders Genesis older $29.99 10,379 82% 311k $9.3M (exactly $9,337,986) Airship Syndicate
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
Hell Clock $19.99 3,535 82% 106k $2.1M (exactly $2,119,940) Rogue Snail
ENDLESS Dungeon™ - Definitive Edition older $14.99 2,953 64% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,327,964) AMPLITUDE Studios
Temtem: Swarm $12.99 2,487 77% 75k $969k (exactly $969,184) Crema, GGTech Studios
Archvale older $14.99 2,044 88% 61k $919k (exactly $919,187) idoz & phops
Relic Hunters Legend $19.99 1,101 65% 33k $660k (exactly $660,270) Rogue Snail
NIMRODS · EA $9.99 1,783 85% 53k $534k (exactly $534,365) Fiveamp
RIFTSTORM · EA $14.99 659 70% 20k $296k (exactly $296,352) Confiction Labs, Agate
Crafty Survivors $11.99 712 83% 21k $256k (exactly $256,106) Flannel Bear Games
Entropy Survivors $9.99 487 80% 15k $146k (exactly $145,954) Moving Pieces Interactive
Shape Shifter: Formations $14.99 269 91% 8.1k $121k (exactly $120,969) Castec Studios
Touhou ~Red Empress Devil. $8.99 438 70% 13k $118k (exactly $118,129) STUDIO POCO

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