Games › JRPG › JRPG + Crafting
Should I ship a Crafting JRPG?
JRPG + Crafting
Of 56 developers who shipped a Crafting 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.. 76 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $10k, ×16 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $780; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×1705 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 76 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $779 (exactly $779) |
|---|---|
| Median | $10k (exactly $10,294) |
| Top 25% | $89k (exactly $88,689) |
| Top 5% | $1.1M (exactly $1,070,572) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 56 |
| Released games | 169 |
| Announced | 76 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $14.99 |
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 35% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- JRPG, Crafting; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $14.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Anime, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 23,530 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $780. 7 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 76 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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
FINAL FANTASY XIV Online 2014 · $47M 
FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time 2025 · $21M 
DRAGON QUEST® XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age™ - Definitive Edition 2020 · $13M 
DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS™ 2 2019 · $10M 
WitchSpring R 2023 · $7.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | FINAL FANTASY XIV Online | older | $19.99 | 78,661 86% | 2.4M | $47M (exactly $47,173,002) | Square Enix |
| | FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time | $59.99 | 11,771 91% | 353k | $21M (exactly $21,184,269) | LEVEL5 Inc. | |
| | DRAGON QUEST® XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age™ - Definitive Edition | older | $39.99 | 10,446 92% | 313k | $13M (exactly $12,532,066) | Square Enix |
| | DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS™ 2 | older | $49.99 | 6,888 92% | 207k | $10M (exactly $10,329,934) | Square Enix, KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
| | WitchSpring R | older | $34.99 | 6,858 95% | 206k | $7.2M (exactly $7,198,843) | KIWIWALKS |
 | 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. | |
 | Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma | $59.99 | 2,947 88% | 88k | $5.3M (exactly $5,303,716) | Marvelous Inc. | |
 | Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes | older | $49.99 | 3,164 75% | 95k | $4.7M (exactly $4,745,051) | Rabbit & Bear Studios |
 | 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. |
 | Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling | older | $19.99 | 5,198 97% | 156k | $3.1M (exactly $3,117,241) | Moonsprout Games |
 | Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian | $59.99 | 714 89% | 21k | $1.3M (exactly $1,284,986) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
 | Bloomtown: A Different Story | $24.99 | 1,428 85% | 43k | $1.1M (exactly $1,070,572) | Lazy Bear Games, Different Sense Games | |
 | Welcome to Elderfield | $17.99 | 1,334 87% | 40k | $720k (exactly $719,960) | Chris Cote | |
 | The Shimmering Horizon and Cursed Blacksmith | $19.99 | 983 58% | 29k | $590k (exactly $589,505) | Ason | |
 | Ova Magica | $29.99 | 581 91% | 17k | $523k (exactly $522,726) | ClaudiaTheDev, Skinny Frog | |
 | Labyrinth of Touhou Tri -The Dreaming Girls & The Mysterious Orbs- | $19.99 | 616 82% | 18k | $369k (exactly $369,415) | Nise-Eikoku Studio | |
 | Fallen Priestess: My Sister's Demonic Bloodline | $18.99 | 622 72% | 19k | $354k (exactly $354,353) | BBQ大好き |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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