Do I ship it?

GamesAction RPGAction RPG + Vampires

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 48 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Vampires
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $39k → $2.7k → $7.9k → $8.2k → $46k → $2.2k → $1.1k (still earning) → $899 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Vampires: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
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.

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
Vampires
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; 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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $10M.

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.

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
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.