Games › CRPG › CRPG + Building
Should I ship a Building CRPG?
CRPG + Building
Only 17 developers shipped a Building CRPG in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Creator Chronicles, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 40 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 $3.3k, ×2.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×102 the market median. Revenue is up 1000% on the market; 40 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $899 (exactly $899) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) |
| Top 25% | $37k (exactly $36,863) |
| Top 5% | $153k (exactly $152,513) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 57 |
| Announced | 40 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 1000% on the market, supply 30% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- CRPG, Building; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Simulation, City Builder
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 70% positive over 1,185 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
CRPG with a different second tag, 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
SpellForce 3 Reforced 2017 · $6.9M 
TaleSpire 2021 · EA · $3.3M 
Blackthorn Arena 2020 · $2.6M 
Immortal Life 2024 · $2.0M 
Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator 2023 · $343k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | SpellForce 3 Reforced | older | $39.99 | 5,784 76% | 174k | $6.9M (exactly $6,939,065) | Grimlore Games |
| | TaleSpire | · EA older | $24.99 | 4,391 89% | 132k | $3.3M (exactly $3,291,933) | Bouncyrock Entertainment |
| | Blackthorn Arena | older | $24.99 | 3,477 69% | 104k | $2.6M (exactly $2,606,707) | PersonaeGame Studio |
| | Immortal Life | older | $16.99 | 3,853 79% | 116k | $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) | YiFang Studio |
| | Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator | older | $12.99 | 879 64% | 26k | $343k (exactly $342,546) | Geekon |
 | Robber Knight | · EA older | $39.99 | 284 64% | 8.5k | $341k (exactly $340,715) | Sartorian |
 | Wanted Raccoon | · EA older | $16.99 | 660 72% | 20k | $336k (exactly $336,402) | MAD Sprouts |
 | Balrum | older | $14.99 | 728 78% | 22k | $327k (exactly $327,382) | Balcony Softworks |
 | Raiders! Forsaken Earth | older | $19.99 | 268 80% | 8.0k | $161k (exactly $160,720) | Creative Storm Entertainment |
 | Creator Chronicles | $11.99 | 424 64% | 13k | $153k (exactly $152,513) | Origin Studio | |
 | A Hero's Rest: An RPG Town Simulator | $24.99 | 160 67% | 4.8k | $120k (exactly $119,952) | Vanargand Games | |
 | Border Town | $14.99 | 253 77% | 7.6k | $114k (exactly $113,774) | GoHoGames | |
 | PuPu's Adventure Park | $14.99 | 130 64% | 3.9k | $58k (exactly $58,461) | 西梅树工作室 | |
 | Herbals tycoon | · EA | $9.99 | 123 76% | 3.7k | $37k (exactly $36,863) | Orange Paper Studio |
 | Holonoptic | $19.95 | 16 93% | 480 | $9.6k (exactly $9,576) | Glazial | |
 | The Creator | $6.99 | 43 81% | 1.3k | $9.0k (exactly $9,017) | Mark Miller | |
 | Station Master RPG | · EA | $11.99 | 19 78% | 570 | $6.8k (exactly $6,834) | Telegraph Studios |
 | Alone: Shattered Tribes | $10.99 | 10 90% | 300 | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) | Super Llama Games | |
 | Aldo: Memory of the Kingdom | $6.99 | 7 57% | 210 | $1.5k (exactly $1,468) | Meleiko |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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