Do I ship it?

Games › Character Action Game › Character Action Game + Combat

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Character Action Game?

Character Action Game + Combat

Of 24 developers who shipped a Combat 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.. 73 more are announced, ×5.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $7.0k, ×4.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.3M, ×1570 the market median. Revenue is up 790% on the market; 73 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 790% on the market, 73 announced, ×5.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Action Game + Combat
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $80k → $12k → $19k → $5.8k → $915k → $305k → $50k (still earning) → $987 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Action Game + Combat: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $1.4k (exactly $1,350)
Median $7.0k (exactly $7,012)
Top 25% $105k (exactly $104,710)
Top 5% $2.4M (exactly $2,352,208)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 130
Announced 73
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $11.99

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 790% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Combat; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Hack and Slash, Action RPG
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Third Person, 3D, Difficult
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 8,265 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.4k, median $7.0k, 1 in 4 over $100k, 1 in 20 over $2.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 6 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.2 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. + AdventurePoor odds28 devs · median $29k · 100 announced
  10. + ActionPoor odds54 devs · median $20k · 188 announced
  11. + Action RoguelikePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 40 announced
  12. + RoguelikePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 16 announced

All 39 pairs on the Character Action Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

SCARLET NEXUS 2021 · $25M NINJA GAIDEN 2 Black 2025 · $4.9M I Am Your Beast 2024 · $3.2M Eternights 2023 · $2.7M Lost Soul Aside™ 2025 · $2.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SCARLET NEXUS older $59.99 13,749 81% 412k $25M (exactly $24,744,075) BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc.
NINJA GAIDEN 2 Black $49.99 3,289 78% 99k $4.9M (exactly $4,932,513) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
I Am Your Beast older $19.99 5,275 97% 158k $3.2M (exactly $3,163,417) Strange Scaffold
Eternights older $29.99 3,046 85% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,740,486) Studio Sai
Lost Soul Aside™ $59.99 1,307 59% 39k $2.4M (exactly $2,352,208) Ultizero Games
No More Heroes older $19.99 2,264 84% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,357,721) GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC.
Wanted: Dead older $29.99 1,373 67% 41k $1.2M (exactly $1,235,288) Soleil Ltd.
No More Heroes 3 older $39.99 835 79% 25k $1.0M (exactly $1,001,750) GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC.
KIBORG $24.99 1,221 84% 37k $915k (exactly $915,384) Sobaka Studio
Kao the Kangaroo older $29.99 871 74% 26k $784k (exactly $783,639) Tate Multimedia
GODBREAKERS $19.99 813 70% 24k $488k (exactly $487,556) To The Sky
Captain Wayne - Vacation Desperation $9.99 1,019 97% 31k $305k (exactly $305,394) Ciaran Games LLC
The Awakener: Battle Tendency $14.98 233 74% 7.0k $105k (exactly $104,710) TANER GAMES
Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch $19.99 97 62% 2.9k $58k (exactly $58,171) Interabang Entertainment
SoulQuest $19.99 97 81% 2.9k $58k (exactly $58,171) SoulBlade Studio LLC, TomasJPereyra
Emberbane $14.99 111 52% 3.3k $50k (exactly $49,917) Hamlet Games
GLUM · EA $12.49 78 64% 2.3k $29k (exactly $29,227) CinderCat Games

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