Do I ship it?

Games › Class-Based › Class-Based + Crafting

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Crafting Class-Based game?

Class-Based + Crafting

Of 37 developers who shipped a Crafting Class-Based 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.. 116 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×3.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $580k, ×392 the market median. Revenue is up 1770% on the market; 116 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 1770% on the market, 116 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Class-Based + Crafting
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 37
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.2k → $9.0k → $20k → $899 → $14k → $9.7k (still earning) → $19k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Class-Based + Crafting: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 37
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Median $5.4k (exactly $5,396)
Top 25% $44k (exactly $43,621)
Top 5% $586k (exactly $586,473)
Developers, 2 yr 37
Released games 85
Announced 116
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 1770% on the market, supply 265% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 25%, 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.

Class-Based
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Crafting
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
Class-Based, Crafting; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Combat, Character Customization
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 57% positive over 7,870 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 $5.4k, 1 in 4 over $43k, 1 in 20 over $580k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 116 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Class-Based with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + AutomationFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  2. + Bullet HeavenFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 38 announced
  3. + SupernaturalLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  4. + 2D PlatformerLong shot26 devs · median $539 · 30 announced
  5. + FPSPoor odds22 devs · median $70k · 70 announced
  6. + MMORPGPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  7. + Base BuildingPoor odds18 devs · median $33k · 44 announced
  8. + WarPoor odds17 devs · median $32k · 59 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds16 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds17 devs · median $13k · 42 announced
  11. + Third-Person ShooterPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  12. + WargamePoor odds14 devs · median $9.4k · 28 announced

All 111 pairs on the Class-Based page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide 2022 · $130M Chronicon 2020 · $3.7M SpiritVale 2026 · EA · $2.1M Dimraeth 2026 · EA · $586k The Pioneers: Surviving Desolation 2023 · EA · $357k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide older $39.99 108,477 72% 3.3M $130M (exactly $130,139,857) Fatshark
Chronicon older $13.99 8,822 94% 265k $3.7M (exactly $3,702,593) Subworld
SpiritVale · EA $14.99 4,755 48% 143k $2.1M (exactly $2,138,324) Baikun Interactive
Dimraeth · EA $21.99 889 80% 27k $586k (exactly $586,473) Mudtek
The Pioneers: Surviving Desolation · EA older $29.99 397 63% 12k $357k (exactly $357,181) Supercube
Nomad Idle $9.99 852 64% 26k $255k (exactly $255,344) The Fox Knocks
Silent Hope older $29.99 274 70% 8.2k $247k (exactly $246,518) Marvelous Inc.
Dredgers older $11.99 471 88% 14k $169k (exactly $169,419) Pirate-Rob
Tinyfolks older $3.99 1,070 93% 32k $128k (exactly $128,079) Pierre Vandermaesen
Camelot Unchained · EA $9.99 369 38% 11k $111k (exactly $110,589) Unchained Entertainment
Run from the Cops! $39.99 83 92% 2.5k $100k (exactly $99,575) CAPITAL RUN
Din's Champion $19.99 160 85% 4.8k $96k (exactly $95,952) Soldak Entertainment
Vespera $7.99 317 67% 9.5k $76k (exactly $75,985) Idle Gamers
Adventure Land - The Code MMORPG $14.99 144 84% 4.3k $65k (exactly $64,757) Wizard
Trolddom $9.99 204 94% 6.1k $61k (exactly $61,139) Plant Based Games
Mushi $14.99 97 74% 2.9k $44k (exactly $43,621) Raptor Claw Games

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