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Should I ship a Collectathon JRPG?
JRPG + Collectathon
Of 36 developers who shipped a Collectathon JRPG 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.. 62 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.3k, ×6.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $23M, ×37380 the market median. Revenue is up 215% on the market; 62 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $899 (exactly $899) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.3k (exactly $4,316) |
| Top 25% | $209k (exactly $209,250) |
| Top 5% | $23M (exactly $23,474,646) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 36 |
| Released games | 106 |
| Announced | 62 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $10.99 |
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 215% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- JRPG
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Collectathon
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- JRPG, Collectathon; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $10.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 41,914 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 62 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
JRPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Mystery DungeonStrong odds
- + NinjaFair
- + RomanceFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + ManagementFair
- + Souls-likeFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LootFair
- + RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
Comparable games
Temtem 2022 · $42M 
Digimon Story Time Stranger 2025 · $33M 
INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road 2025 · $23M 
Cassette Beasts 2023 · $5.4M 
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land 2025 · $5.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Temtem | older | $44.99 | 31,263 82% | 938k | $42M (exactly $42,195,671) | Crema |
| | Digimon Story Time Stranger | $69.99 | 15,845 89% | 475k | $33M (exactly $33,269,746) | Media.Vision Inc. | |
| | INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road | $69.99 | 11,180 88% | 335k | $23M (exactly $23,474,646) | LEVEL5 Inc. | |
| | Cassette Beasts | older | $19.99 | 8,976 94% | 269k | $5.4M (exactly $5,382,907) | Bytten Studio |
| | Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land | $69.99 | 2,534 64% | 76k | $5.3M (exactly $5,320,640) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
 | Elin | · EA | $19.99 | 8,406 93% | 252k | $5.0M (exactly $5,041,078) | Lafrontier |
 | Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream | older | $59.99 | 2,166 94% | 65k | $3.9M (exactly $3,898,150) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
 | Coromon | older | $19.99 | 6,327 85% | 190k | $3.8M (exactly $3,794,302) | TRAGsoft |
 | DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince | older | $39.99 | 1,158 71% | 35k | $1.4M (exactly $1,389,253) | Square Enix |
 | Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book DX | older | $39.99 | 972 89% | 29k | $1.2M (exactly $1,166,108) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
 | Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection | $39.99 | 657 96% | 20k | $788k (exactly $788,203) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
 | Shin chan: Shiro and the Coal Town | $29.99 | 837 95% | 25k | $753k (exactly $753,049) | h.a.n.d., Inc. | |
 | Welcome to Elderfield | $17.99 | 1,334 87% | 40k | $720k (exactly $719,960) | Chris Cote | |
 | Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout DX | $39.99 | 257 76% | 7.7k | $308k (exactly $308,323) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
 | Sea Fantasy | $14.99 | 585 86% | 18k | $263k (exactly $263,074) | METASLA | |
 | Botworld Odyssey | $25.00 | 279 76% | 8.4k | $209k (exactly $209,250) | Featherweight Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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