Do I ship it?

Games › Character Action Game › Character Action Game + Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fantasy Character Action Game?

Character Action Game + Fantasy

Only 17 developers shipped a Fantasy Character Action Game 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, Lost Soul Aside™, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 63 more are announced, ×4.5 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 $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.3M, ×1570 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 63 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 63 announced, ×4.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Action Game + Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $416 → $72k → $1.4k → $500k → $131k → $8.8k (still earning) → $3.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Action Game + Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Median $7.0k (exactly $7,012)
Top 25% $58k (exactly $58,171)
Top 5% $2.4M (exactly $2,352,208)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 174
Announced 63
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 down 95% on the market, supply 365% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Fantasy
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; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Hack and Slash
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Anime, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 2,634 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.8k, median $7.0k, 1 in 4 over $58k, 1 in 20 over $2.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 63 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Character Action Game with a different setting or mood, 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 DmC: Devil May Cry 2013 · $19M Bayonetta 2017 · $16M KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX- 2024 · $16M Moonlighter 2018 · $10M
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.
DmC: Devil May Cry older $29.99 20,938 93% 628k $19M (exactly $18,837,919) Ninja Theory
Bayonetta older $19.99 27,380 92% 821k $16M (exactly $16,419,786) PlatinumGames
KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX- older $49.99 10,471 86% 314k $16M (exactly $15,703,359) Square Enix
Moonlighter older $19.99 17,286 82% 519k $10M (exactly $10,366,414) Digital Sun
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition older $29.99 7,998 80% 240k $7.2M (exactly $7,195,801) MercurySteam, Climax Studios
Steelrising older $49.99 4,568 73% 137k $6.9M (exactly $6,850,630) Spiders
KINGDOM HEARTS III + Re Mind (DLC) older $59.99 2,535 89% 76k $4.6M (exactly $4,562,240) Square Enix
Lost Soul Aside™ $59.99 1,307 59% 39k $2.4M (exactly $2,352,208) Ultizero Games
Soulstice older $39.99 1,845 76% 55k $2.2M (exactly $2,213,446) Reply Game Studios
Valkyrie of Phantasm $29.99 556 86% 17k $500k (exactly $500,233) AREAZERO
Genokids · EA $19.99 218 98% 6.5k $131k (exactly $130,735) Nukefist
The Awakener: Battle Tendency $14.98 233 74% 7.0k $105k (exactly $104,710) TANER GAMES
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
Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons Boosted $39.99 17 58% 510 $20k (exactly $20,395) TAITO CORP.
Pixel Game Maker Series MagicalShot The AttackBump☆ $4.99 59 100% 1.8k $8.8k (exactly $8,832) Azuma Project
DAWN ONE $8.99 26 76% 780 $7.0k (exactly $7,012) shaderbunny
Slay The Berserker · EA $9.99 10 50% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) Advance Garde

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