Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Vampires
Should I ship a Vampire Action RPG?
Action RPG + Vampires
Of 29 developers who shipped a Vampire 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.. 48 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×1.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $10M, ×7279 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 48 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,246) |
| Top 25% | $23k (exactly $23,384) |
| Top 5% | $11M (exactly $10,903,742) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 101 |
| Announced | 48 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 55% on the market, supply 165% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, 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
- Vampires
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Action RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 23,171 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action RPG with a different setting or mood, 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | CODE VEIN | older | $59.99 | 46,315 83% | 1.4M | $83M (exactly $83,353,106) | Bandai Namco Studios |
| | Vampire Survivors | older | $4.99 | 251,686 98% | 7.6M | $38M (exactly $37,677,394) | poncle |
| | The Blood of Dawnwalker | $69.99 | 15,789 86% | 474k | $33M (exactly $33,152,163) | Rebel Wolves | |
| | Vampyr | older | $39.99 | 20,081 77% | 602k | $24M (exactly $24,091,176) | DONTNOD Entertainment |
| | CODE VEIN II | $69.99 | 5,193 66% | 156k | $11M (exactly $10,903,742) | Bandai Namco Studios Inc. | |
| | Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden | older | $49.99 | 6,429 84% | 193k | $9.6M (exactly $9,641,571) | DON'T NOD |
| | Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines | older | $19.99 | 13,889 94% | 417k | $8.3M (exactly $8,329,233) | Troika Games |
| | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 | older | $39.99 | 4,874 84% | 146k | $5.8M (exactly $5,847,338) | MercurySteam |
| | The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing | older | $14.99 | 7,720 83% | 232k | $3.5M (exactly $3,471,684) | NeocoreGames |
| | The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut | older | $44.99 | 1,959 76% | 59k | $2.6M (exactly $2,644,062) | NeocoreGames |
| | Night Swarm | $9.99 | 1,142 78% | 34k | $342k (exactly $342,257) | Fubu Games | |
| | Touhou ~Red Empress Devil. | $8.99 | 438 70% | 13k | $118k (exactly $118,129) | STUDIO POCO | |
| | Hordes of Hunger | $14.99 | 230 72% | 6.9k | $103k (exactly $103,431) | Hyperstrange | |
| | Beyond the Ice Palace 2 | $19.99 | 77 63% | 2.3k | $46k (exactly $46,177) | STORYBIRD Studio | |
| | VELASTER | · EA | $10.99 | 83 87% | 2.5k | $27k (exactly $27,365) | ODYSSEYER |
| | Magissy | $14.99 | 52 46% | 1.6k | $23k (exactly $23,384) | Bit Fat Games | |
| | Deadhaus Sonata | · EA | $19.99 | 38 68% | 1.1k | $23k (exactly $22,789) | Apocalypse Studios |
| | Bronana | $4.99 | 129 68% | 3.9k | $19k (exactly $19,311) | busy bear |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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