Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Villain Protagonist
Should I ship a Villain-Led Action RPG?
Action RPG + Villain Protagonist
Only 4 developers shipped a Villain-Led Action RPG in the last 2 years. Over 4 years, 13 did: 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.. 5 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.
Only 2 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $720 against a market of $1.5k. 5 games are announced.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $719 (exactly $719) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.8k (exactly $4,794) |
| Top 25% | $149k (exactly $149,276) |
| Top 5% | $388k (exactly $388,391) |
| Developers, 4 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 29 |
| Announced | 5 |
| 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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply as many developers as 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
- Villain Protagonist
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Action RPG
- Price point
- $7.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 4 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 39,128 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 5 games are announced against 2 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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
Maneater 2021 · $26M 
Overlord II 2009 · $1.2M 
Overlord™ 2007 · $750k 
Of Orcs And Men 2012 · $743k 
BDSM: Big Drunk Satanic Massacre 2019 · $668k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Maneater | older | $39.99 | 21,790 87% | 654k | $26M (exactly $26,141,463) | Tripwire Interactive |
| | Overlord II | older | $9.99 | 4,002 89% | 120k | $1.2M (exactly $1,199,399) | Triumph Studios |
| | Overlord™ | older | $4.99 | 5,007 94% | 150k | $750k (exactly $749,548) | Triumph Studios |
| | Of Orcs And Men | older | $14.99 | 1,652 76% | 50k | $743k (exactly $742,904) | Cyanide Studio, Spiders |
| | BDSM: Big Drunk Satanic Massacre | older | $19.99 | 1,114 87% | 33k | $668k (exactly $668,066) | Big Way Games |
 | Overlord™: Raising Hell | older | $9.99 | 1,994 92% | 60k | $598k (exactly $597,602) | Triumph Studios |
 | Undead Horde | older | $16.99 | 1,107 86% | 33k | $564k (exactly $564,238) | 10tons Ltd |
 | The Unliving | older | $16.99 | 762 62% | 23k | $388k (exactly $388,391) | RocketBrush Games |
 | Undead Horde 2: Necropolis | older | $16.99 | 447 83% | 13k | $228k (exactly $227,836) | 10tons Ltd |
 | Dungeon Keeper™ 2 | older | $4.99 | 1,253 92% | 38k | $188k (exactly $187,574) | Bullfrog Productions |
 | Tome of the Damned | $7.99 | 20 60% | 600 | $4.8k (exactly $4,794) | Redtower Games | |
 | SCP: Pale Weaver | $5.99 | 4 0% | 120 | $719 (exactly $719) | why so serious? | |
 | Dunia: The North Wood - Episode 0 | $0.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $208 (exactly $208) | Team Wood Block | |
 | Struggler | $5.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $180 (exactly $180) | Bulanke |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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