Games › CRPG › CRPG + Artificial Intelligence
Should I ship an AI CRPG?
CRPG + Artificial Intelligence
Of 20 developers who shipped an AI CRPG 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.. 42 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $630, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270. 42 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper, while revenue is up 1155% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $629 (exactly $629) |
| Top 25% | $16k (exactly $15,592) |
| Top 5% | $533k (exactly $533,344) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 20 |
| Released games | 36 |
| Announced | 42 |
| 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 up 1155% on the market, supply 300% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- CRPG
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Artificial Intelligence
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- CRPG; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Action RPG
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 2,673 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
CRPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + IncrementalLong shot
- + FMVPoor odds
- + Card BattlerPoor odds
- + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds
- + SpacePoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Happy Island Fantasy | $14.99 | 1,186 88% | 36k | $533k (exactly $533,344) | HappyCreator | |
| | Fickle Card Legend | $7.99 | 992 67% | 30k | $238k (exactly $237,782) | 偶尔不帅 | |
| | Umbranomicon | $9.99 | 183 68% | 5.5k | $55k (exactly $54,845) | Pleasure Studio | |
| | Saga & Seeker | $9.99 | 178 57% | 5.3k | $53k (exactly $53,347) | Dagdoria Studio | |
| | The Traveller Tale | $19.99 | 26 69% | 780 | $16k (exactly $15,592) | Mystic Dream Studio's | |
| | NTR Tales – Adventurer Corruption | $9.99 | 40 85% | 1.2k | $12k (exactly $11,988) | Naughty Arcade Studio | |
| | AI公寓:虚拟证言 | older | $11.99 | 16 43% | 480 | $5.8k (exactly $5,755) | IntelliPlay |
| | RolemIAster | · EA | $5.99 | 23 56% | 690 | $4.1k (exactly $4,133) | ABAFE |
| | My Daughter In Family Ai | $2.99 | 21 57% | 630 | $1.9k (exactly $1,884) | AI GAME STUDIO | |
| | NYXverse.AI | · EA | $1.99 | 21 61% | 630 | $1.3k (exactly $1,254) | 2033Tech |
| | Astral Alchemist ~Stardust & Shenanigans~ | · EA | $6.99 | 3 33% | 90 | $629 (exactly $629) | Lophophora Games |
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.