Games › Strategy RPG › Strategy RPG + Adventure
Should I ship an Adventure Strategy RPG?
Strategy RPG + Adventure
Of 370 developers who shipped an Adventure Strategy 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.. 683 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $810k, ×1298 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 683 games are announced against 207 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,529) |
| Top 25% | $29k (exactly $29,471) |
| Top 5% | $815k (exactly $814,884) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 370 |
| Released games | 1,118 |
| Announced | 683 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 down 30% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Strategy RPG
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Adventure
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy RPG, Adventure; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 137,151 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 208 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 683 games are announced against 207 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SportsFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + EconomyFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + ConspiracyFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal | older | $19.99 | 190,184 56% | 5.7M | $114M (exactly $114,053,345) | 鬼谷工作室 |
| | Persona 3 Reload | older | $59.99 | 43,497 95% | 1.3M | $78M (exactly $78,281,551) | ATLUS |
| | Metaphor: ReFantazio | $69.99 | 25,224 89% | 757k | $53M (exactly $52,962,833) | ATLUS | |
| | The Scroll of Taiwu : Beyond The Dome | $29.99 | 56,535 65% | 1.7M | $51M (exactly $50,864,540) | ConchShip Games | |
| | Marvel's Midnight Suns | older | $59.99 | 17,060 82% | 512k | $31M (exactly $30,702,882) | Firaxis Games |
| | SCARLET NEXUS | older | $59.99 | 13,749 81% | 412k | $25M (exactly $24,744,075) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. |
| | For The King | older | $19.99 | 31,038 87% | 931k | $19M (exactly $18,613,489) | IronOak Games |
| | Solasta: Crown of the Magister | older | $29.99 | 19,680 87% | 590k | $18M (exactly $17,706,096) | Tactical Adventures |
| | Pathfinder: Kingmaker — Enhanced Plus Edition | older | $19.99 | 28,146 77% | 844k | $17M (exactly $16,879,156) | Owlcat Games |
| | Loop Hero | older | $14.99 | 33,816 92% | 1.0M | $15M (exactly $15,207,055) | Four Quarters |
| | Magicraft | $15.99 | 15,051 92% | 452k | $7.2M (exactly $7,219,965) | Wave Games | |
| | Back to the Dawn | $23.99 | 8,555 94% | 257k | $6.2M (exactly $6,157,034) | Metal Head Games | |
| | Road to Empress Ⅱ | $18.00 | 7,773 80% | 233k | $4.2M (exactly $4,197,420) | New One Studio | |
| | Solasta II | · EA | $39.99 | 2,931 75% | 88k | $3.5M (exactly $3,516,321) | Tactical Adventures |
| | Road to Empress I | $8.49 | 11,829 86% | 355k | $3.0M (exactly $3,012,846) | New One Studio | |
| | The World of Kungfu: Dragon and Eagle | $17.99 | 4,595 67% | 138k | $2.5M (exactly $2,479,922) | ChillyRoom | |
| | Songs of Silence | $29.99 | 2,367 79% | 71k | $2.1M (exactly $2,129,590) | Chimera Entertainment | |
| | Age of Reforging: The Freelands | $29.99 | 2,291 71% | 69k | $2.1M (exactly $2,061,213) | PersonaeGame Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.