Do I ship it?

GamesParty-Based RPGParty-Based RPG + Crafting

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Crafting Party-Based RPG?

Party-Based RPG + Crafting

Of 53 developers who shipped a Crafting Party-Based RPG 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.. 122 more are announced, ×4.5 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 $700; 1 in 20 cleared $5.3M, ×8445 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 122 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 16.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 122 announced, ×4.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Party-Based RPG + Crafting
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 53
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $9.0k → $6.9k → $26k → $6.7k → $10k → $4.4k (still earning) → $15k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Party-Based RPG + Crafting: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 53
Bottom 30% $693 (exactly $693)
Median $10k (exactly $10,195)
Top 25% $65k (exactly $64,757)
Top 5% $5.3M (exactly $5,303,716)
Developers, 2 yr 53
Released games 130
Announced 122
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 up 20% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Party-Based RPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Party-Based RPG, Crafting; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$14.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Anime, Isometric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 28,418 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $700, median $10k, 1 in 4 over $64k, 1 in 20 over $5.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $700. 7 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 122 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Board GameFair24 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  2. + Point & ClickFair17 devs · median $2.5k · 20 announced
  3. + 2D PlatformerFair55 devs · median $599 · 42 announced
  4. + Hidden ObjectFair15 devs · median $479 · 16 announced
  5. + Martial ArtsPoor odds5 devs · median $230k · 16 announced
  6. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $49k · 25 announced
  7. + SandboxPoor odds23 devs · median $34k · 71 announced
  8. + BuildingPoor odds12 devs · median $32k · 37 announced
  9. + AutomationPoor odds14 devs · median $21k · 28 announced
  10. + Turn-BasedPoor odds67 devs · median $19k · 76 announced
  11. + Base BuildingPoor odds19 devs · median $19k · 51 announced
  12. + IncrementalPoor odds18 devs · median $15k · 45 announced

All 111 pairs on the Party-Based RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Kenshi older $29.99 98,451 95% 3.0M $89M (exactly $88,576,365) Lo-Fi Games
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
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
Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator $17.99 7,019 83% 211k $3.8M (exactly $3,788,154) Biotech Gameworks
TaleSpire · EA older $24.99 4,391 89% 132k $3.3M (exactly $3,291,933) Bouncyrock Entertainment
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling older $19.99 5,198 97% 156k $3.1M (exactly $3,117,241) Moonsprout Games
Rune Factory 5 older $39.99 1,940 76% 58k $2.3M (exactly $2,327,418) Marvelous Inc.
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
Urban Strife $34.99 653 69% 20k $685k (exactly $685,454) White Pond Games
Labyrinth of Touhou Tri -The Dreaming Girls & The Mysterious Orbs- $19.99 616 82% 18k $369k (exactly $369,415) Nise-Eikoku Studio
Valorborn · EA $24.99 492 60% 15k $369k (exactly $368,852) Laps Games
Wayblazer Dämmerung $39.99 244 65% 7.3k $293k (exactly $292,727) Eushully

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