Games › Crafting › Crafting + Strategy RPG
Should I ship a Crafting Strategy RPG?
Crafting + Strategy RPG
Of 94 developers who shipped a Crafting Strategy 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.. 167 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $680k, ×1091 the market median. Revenue is up 155% on the market; 167 games are announced against 58 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,153) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $14,985) |
| Top 5% | $685k (exactly $685,454) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 94 |
| Released games | 212 |
| Announced | 167 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 155% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Crafting
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Strategy RPG
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Crafting, Strategy RPG; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Building
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 31,201 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 45 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 167 games are announced against 58 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Crafting with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + SportsFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + IdlerFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + WesternPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
Kenshi 2018 · $89M 
The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M 
Magicraft 2024 · $7.2M 
The Matchless Kungfu 2024 · $4.1M 
Mind Over Magic 2025 · $3.2M | 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 |
| | The Riftbreaker | older | $29.99 | 22,127 90% | 664k | $20M (exactly $19,907,662) | EXOR Studios |
| | Magicraft | $15.99 | 15,051 92% | 452k | $7.2M (exactly $7,219,965) | Wave Games | |
| | The Matchless Kungfu | $19.99 | 6,755 79% | 203k | $4.1M (exactly $4,050,973) | HuanMos Game | |
| | Mind Over Magic | $24.99 | 4,314 86% | 129k | $3.2M (exactly $3,234,206) | Sparkypants | |
 | BOOK OF HOURS | older | $24.99 | 4,129 89% | 124k | $3.1M (exactly $3,095,511) | Weather Factory |
 | SpellForce: Conquest of Eo | older | $29.99 | 2,149 80% | 64k | $1.9M (exactly $1,933,455) | Owned by Gravity |
 | Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition | older | $14.99 | 3,579 55% | 107k | $1.6M (exactly $1,609,476) | Klabater |
 | Thea 2: The Shattering | older | $24.99 | 1,892 79% | 57k | $1.4M (exactly $1,418,432) | MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio |
 | Aces & Adventures | older | $19.99 | 2,220 89% | 67k | $1.3M (exactly $1,331,334) | Triple.B.Titles |
 | Little Rocket Lab | $19.99 | 1,286 90% | 39k | $771k (exactly $771,214) | Teenage Astronauts | |
 | Urban Strife | $34.99 | 653 69% | 20k | $685k (exactly $685,454) | White Pond Games | |
 | Blackthorn Arena: Reforged | $24.99 | 882 66% | 26k | $661k (exactly $661,235) | PersonaeGame Studio | |
 | Crown of Greed | $19.99 | 680 60% | 20k | $408k (exactly $407,796) | BLUM Entertainment | |
 | Machine Mind | $19.99 | 567 71% | 17k | $340k (exactly $340,030) | Chudo-Yudo Games | |
 | Medieval Crafter: Blacksmith | $11.99 | 745 76% | 22k | $268k (exactly $267,976) | Compact Core Games | |
 | Ascent of Ashes | · EA | $14.99 | 268 68% | 8.0k | $121k (exactly $120,520) | Vivid Storm Interactive |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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