Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + War
Should I ship a War Action RPG?
Action RPG + War
Of 50 developers who shipped a War 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.. 109 more are announced, ×5.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×2.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $2.0M, ×1390 the market median. Revenue is up 705% on the market; 109 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.1k (exactly $3,148) |
| Top 25% | $18k (exactly $17,988) |
| Top 5% | $2.1M (exactly $2,082,806) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 50 |
| Released games | 197 |
| Announced | 109 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 705% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, 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
- War
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Action RPG; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Strategy
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 36,298 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 42 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 109 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.7 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
Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™ 2017 · $132M 
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS 2025 · $41M 
Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr 2018 · $29M 
Sifu 2023 · $26M 
Black Desert 2017 · $19M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™ | older | $49.99 | 87,777 88% | 2.6M | $132M (exactly $131,639,167) | Monolith Productions |
| | DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS | $69.99 | 19,578 92% | 587k | $41M (exactly $41,107,927) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr | older | $49.99 | 19,552 75% | 587k | $29M (exactly $29,322,134) | NeocoreGames |
| | Sifu | older | $39.99 | 21,620 92% | 649k | $26M (exactly $25,937,514) | Sloclap |
| | Black Desert | older | $9.99 | 63,052 75% | 1.9M | $19M (exactly $18,896,684) | Pearl Abyss |
 | Sands of Salzaar | older | $14.99 | 21,428 81% | 643k | $9.6M (exactly $9,636,172) | 汉家松鼠Han-Squirrel Studio |
 | Heroes' Vow: Three Kingdoms | · EA | $19.99 | 6,652 88% | 200k | $4.0M (exactly $3,989,204) | Free Wing |
 | Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword | older | $9.99 | 11,213 87% | 336k | $3.4M (exactly $3,360,536) | TaleWorlds Entertainment |
 | Medal of Honor™: Above and Beyond | older | $39.99 | 2,466 65% | 74k | $3.0M (exactly $2,958,460) | Respawn Entertainment |
 | Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun | older | $19.99 | 3,829 66% | 115k | $2.3M (exactly $2,296,251) | ZUIJIANGYUE Game |
 | METAL GEAR SOLID 4: Guns of the Patriots - Master Collection Version | $29.99 | 2,315 96% | 69k | $2.1M (exactly $2,082,806) | KONAMI | |
 | FREEDOM WARS Remastered | $39.99 | 1,211 69% | 36k | $1.5M (exactly $1,452,837) | Dimps Corporation | |
 | Metal Slug Tactics | $24.99 | 1,152 76% | 35k | $864k (exactly $863,654) | Leikir Studio | |
 | 近畿霊務局 - Kinki Spiritual Affairs Bureau | $9.99 | 2,780 92% | 83k | $833k (exactly $833,166) | Noto Muteki | |
 | Bad 2 Bad: Apocalypse | $19.99 | 905 77% | 27k | $543k (exactly $542,728) | DAWINSTONE | |
 | Huaxia: Warring States | · EA | $19.99 | 701 61% | 21k | $420k (exactly $420,390) | 秦川汉渚 |
 | Granvir | $14.99 | 842 90% | 25k | $379k (exactly $378,647) | Airborne Games | |
 | FAIRY TAIL 2 | $59.99 | 162 61% | 4.9k | $292k (exactly $291,551) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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