Do I ship it?

Games › Character Action Game › Character Action Game + Adventure

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Adventure Character Action Game?

Character Action Game + Adventure

Of 28 developers who shipped an Adventure Character Action Game 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.. 100 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $29k, ×20 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $4.9M, ×3293 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 100 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 19.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 100 announced, ×4.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Action Game + Adventure
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.7k → $19k → $58k → $305k → $258k → $2.4k (still earning) → $55k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Action Game + Adventure: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $3.0k (exactly $2,997)
Median $29k (exactly $29,227)
Top 25% $305k (exactly $305,346)
Top 5% $4.9M (exactly $4,932,513)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 417
Announced 100
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $15.00

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 90% 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.

Character Action Game
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Adventure
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Character Action Game, Adventure; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Hack and Slash
Price point
$15.00 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Violent
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $15.00.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 19,418 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.0k, median $29k, 1 in 4 over $300k, 1 in 20 over $4.9M.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.0k. 3 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 100 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Character Action Game with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Sci-fiPoor odds12 devs · median $305k · 30 announced
  2. + Action RPGPoor odds14 devs · median $105k · 55 announced
  3. + ShooterPoor odds14 devs · median $84k · 47 announced
  4. + Action-AdventurePoor odds23 devs · median $58k · 93 announced
  5. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds14 devs · median $58k · 43 announced
  6. + Spectacle fighterPoor odds22 devs · median $58k · 44 announced
  7. + Hack and SlashPoor odds27 devs · median $58k · 80 announced
  8. + Beat 'em upPoor odds12 devs · median $58k · 37 announced
  9. + ActionPoor odds54 devs · median $20k · 188 announced
  10. + Action RoguelikePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 40 announced
  11. + RoguelikePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 16 announced
  12. + SimulationPoor odds10 devs · median $15k · 19 announced

All 39 pairs on the Character Action Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

NieR:Automata™ 2017 · $138M Devil May Cry 5 2019 · $107M METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE 2014 · $62M NieR Replicant™ ver.1.22474487139... 2021 · $39M SCARLET NEXUS 2021 · $25M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
NieR:Automata™ older $39.99 115,103 88% 3.5M $138M (exactly $138,089,069) Square Enix, PlatinumGames Inc.
Devil May Cry 5 older $29.99 119,108 96% 3.6M $107M (exactly $107,161,468) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE older $29.99 69,104 96% 2.1M $62M (exactly $62,172,869) PlatinumGames
NieR Replicant™ ver.1.22474487139... older $59.99 21,493 88% 645k $39M (exactly $38,680,952) Square Enix, Toylogic Inc.
SCARLET NEXUS older $59.99 13,749 81% 412k $25M (exactly $24,744,075) BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc.
Hi-Fi RUSH older $29.99 27,454 97% 824k $25M (exactly $24,700,364) Tango Gameworks
DmC: Devil May Cry older $29.99 20,938 93% 628k $19M (exactly $18,837,919) Ninja Theory
NINJA GAIDEN 4 $69.99 8,459 88% 254k $18M (exactly $17,761,362) PlatinumGames Inc. / Team NINJA / KOEI… (PlatinumGames Inc. / Team NINJA / KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.)
Devil May Cry HD Collection older $29.99 19,493 93% 585k $18M (exactly $17,537,852) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Bayonetta older $19.99 27,380 92% 821k $16M (exactly $16,419,786) PlatinumGames
NINJA GAIDEN 2 Black $49.99 3,289 78% 99k $4.9M (exactly $4,932,513) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN $49.99 2,059 87% 62k $3.1M (exactly $3,087,882) GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC.
Lost Soul Aside™ $59.99 1,307 59% 39k $2.4M (exactly $2,352,208) Ultizero Games
Aeruta $19.99 2,391 94% 72k $1.4M (exactly $1,433,883) FromDawn Games
Mahou Arms $39.99 618 73% 19k $741k (exactly $741,415) Dischan Media
Cybernetic Fault $14.99 679 78% 20k $305k (exactly $305,346) Whale Rock Games
TORMENTOR $29.99 287 49% 8.6k $258k (exactly $258,214) Madmind Studio
MySims™ $39.99 209 86% 6.3k $251k (exactly $250,737) Maxis
MySims™ Kingdom $39.99 120 93% 3.6k $144k (exactly $143,964) Maxis

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