Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Dragons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dragon Combat game?

Combat + Dragons

Of 57 developers who shipped a Dragon Combat 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.. 123 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $3.8M, ×6127 the market median. Revenue is up 1245% on the market; 123 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 1245% on the market, 123 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Dragons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 57
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $807 → $3.3k → $5.1k → $718 → $807 → $1.2k → $31k (still earning) → $13k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Dragons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 57
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $23k (exactly $23,382)
Top 5% $3.8M (exactly $3,847,759)
Developers, 2 yr 57
Released games 188
Announced 123
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 1245% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Dragons
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Action
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 131,275 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $3.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 123 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Combat with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Crimson Desert Enhanced 2026 · $242M Lords of the Fallen 2023 · $34M Dragon Age™ Inquisition 2020 · $23M DragonSword : Awakening 2026 · $9.5M DRAGON QUEST VII Reimagined 2026 · $3.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Crimson Desert Enhanced $69.99 115,056 83% 3.5M $242M (exactly $241,583,083) Pearl Abyss
Lords of the Fallen older $29.99 37,902 68% 1.1M $34M (exactly $34,100,429) CI Games
Dragon Age™ Inquisition older $39.99 19,162 75% 575k $23M (exactly $22,988,651) BioWare
DragonSword : Awakening $29.99 10,568 90% 317k $9.5M (exactly $9,508,030) Hound13 Inc.
DRAGON QUEST VII Reimagined $59.99 2,138 88% 64k $3.8M (exactly $3,847,759) Square Enix, HEXADRIVE Inc.
Day of Dragons · EA older $19.99 6,278 68% 188k $3.8M (exactly $3,764,917) Beawesome Games
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection $49.99 1,214 63% 36k $1.8M (exactly $1,820,636) Digital Eclipse
LUNAR Remastered Collection $49.99 576 91% 17k $864k (exactly $863,827) ASHIBI Co., Ltd., GAME ARTS Co., Ltd.
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon older $24.99 963 76% 29k $722k (exactly $721,961) KONAMI, GuruGuru
Slice & Dice older $8.99 2,484 96% 75k $670k (exactly $669,935) Tann
Elemental: Reforged $29.99 478 73% 14k $430k (exactly $430,057) Stardock Entertainment
Ancient Kingdoms · EA $15.99 473 86% 14k $227k (exactly $226,898) Ancient Pixels
Beloved Rapture $19.99 237 82% 7.1k $142k (exactly $142,129) Rapturous Studio
Mage and Monsters II $8.99 372 82% 11k $100k (exactly $100,328) Lasse Zacho Malver
Dragonhold $19.99 163 68% 4.9k $98k (exactly $97,751) Exis Games

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