Do I ship it?

Games › Character Action Game › Character Action Game + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi Character Action Game?

Character Action Game + Sci-fi

Only 12 developers shipped a Sci-fi 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, NINJA GAIDEN 4, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 30 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $310k, ×204 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $29k; 1 in 20 cleared $17M, ×11857 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 30 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 203.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 30 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Action Game + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.7k → $2.7M → $488k → $55k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Action Game + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $28k (exactly $28,472)
Median $305k (exactly $305,346)
Top 25% $2.4M (exactly $2,352,208)
Top 5% $18M (exactly $17,761,362)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 77
Announced 30
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $15.99

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 50% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.

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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
Sci-fi
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
Price point
$15.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 14,464 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $29k, median $310k, 1 in 4 over $2.3M, 1 in 20 over $17M.

3 in 10 developers made under $29k. 4 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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. + Action RPGPoor odds14 devs · median $105k · 55 announced
  2. + ShooterPoor odds14 devs · median $84k · 47 announced
  3. + Action-AdventurePoor odds23 devs · median $58k · 93 announced
  4. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds14 devs · median $58k · 43 announced
  5. + Spectacle fighterPoor odds22 devs · median $58k · 44 announced
  6. + Hack and SlashPoor odds27 devs · median $58k · 80 announced
  7. + Beat 'em upPoor odds12 devs · median $58k · 37 announced
  8. + AdventurePoor odds28 devs · median $29k · 100 announced
  9. + ActionPoor odds54 devs · median $20k · 188 announced
  10. + Action RoguelikePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 40 announced
  11. + RoguelikePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 16 announced
  12. + SimulationPoor odds10 devs · median $15k · 19 announced

All 39 pairs on the Character Action Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

NieR:Automata™ 2017 · $138M METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE 2014 · $62M SCARLET NEXUS 2021 · $25M NINJA GAIDEN 4 2025 · $18M Borderlands Game of the Year Enhanced 2023 · $16M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
NieR:Automata™ older $39.99 115,103 88% 3.5M $138M (exactly $138,089,069) Square Enix, PlatinumGames Inc.
METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE older $29.99 69,104 96% 2.1M $62M (exactly $62,172,869) PlatinumGames
SCARLET NEXUS older $59.99 13,749 81% 412k $25M (exactly $24,744,075) BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc.
NINJA GAIDEN 4 $69.99 8,459 88% 254k $18M (exactly $17,761,362) PlatinumGames Inc. / Team NINJA / KOEI… (PlatinumGames Inc. / Team NINJA / KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.)
Borderlands Game of the Year Enhanced older $29.99 18,217 81% 547k $16M (exactly $16,389,835) Gearbox Software, Blind Squirrel Games
ICEY older $10.99 25,142 89% 754k $8.3M (exactly $8,289,317) FantaBlade Network
Vanquish older $19.99 6,974 89% 209k $4.2M (exactly $4,182,308) PlatinumGames, Little Stone Software
ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN $49.99 2,059 87% 62k $3.1M (exactly $3,087,882) GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC.
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
Mahou Arms $39.99 618 73% 19k $741k (exactly $741,415) Dischan Media
GODBREAKERS $19.99 813 70% 24k $488k (exactly $487,556) To The Sky
Cybernetic Fault $14.99 679 78% 20k $305k (exactly $305,346) Whale Rock Games
BioMenace Remastered $14.99 186 99% 5.6k $84k (exactly $83,644) Rigel Gameworks
Cyberpunk SFX $9.99 183 83% 5.5k $55k (exactly $54,845) Whale Rock Games
TEXNOPLAZM · EA $15.99 65 98% 2.0k $31k (exactly $31,180) Mothership Loudspeakerz
Kijutsu Rider $9.99 95 56% 2.9k $28k (exactly $28,472) OmegaMechAnimations

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