Should I ship a Combat CRPG?
CRPG + Combat
Of 79 developers who shipped a Combat CRPG 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.. 169 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×1.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $230k, ×159 the market median. Revenue is up 525% on the market; 169 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,248) |
| Top 25% | $20k (exactly $19,780) |
| Top 5% | $238k (exactly $238,262) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 79 |
| Released games | 225 |
| Announced | 169 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 525% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- CRPG, Combat; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Action RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 7,133 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 9 in 10 of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 169 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
CRPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + IncrementalLong shot
- + FMVPoor odds
- + Card BattlerPoor odds
- + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds
- + SpacePoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
Comparable games
Baldur's Gate 3 2023 · $1.4B 
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition 2021 · $51M 
Solasta: Crown of the Magister 2021 · $18M 
Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew 2023 · $6.2M 
Blackthorn Arena 2020 · $2.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Baldur's Gate 3 | older | $59.99 | 755,010 96% | 23M | $1.4B (exactly $1,358,791,497) | Larian Studios |
| | Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition | older | $49.99 | 34,157 83% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $51,225,253) | Owlcat Games |
| | Solasta: Crown of the Magister | older | $29.99 | 19,680 87% | 590k | $18M (exactly $17,706,096) | Tactical Adventures |
| | Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew | older | $39.99 | 5,190 91% | 156k | $6.2M (exactly $6,226,443) | Mimimi Games |
| | Blackthorn Arena | older | $24.99 | 3,477 69% | 104k | $2.6M (exactly $2,606,707) | PersonaeGame Studio |
 | Beast Saga | $20.99 | 2,714 80% | 81k | $1.7M (exactly $1,709,006) | 嘉兴黑曜石(Jiaxing Obsidian) | |
 | Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance | older | $39.99 | 954 81% | 29k | $1.1M (exactly $1,144,514) | Square One Games Inc., Black Isle Studi… (Square One Games Inc., Black Isle Studios) |
 | Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II | older | $39.99 | 641 79% | 19k | $769k (exactly $769,008) | Square One Games Inc., Black Isle Studi… (Square One Games Inc., Black Isle Studios) |
 | Dark Envoy | older | $29.99 | 783 69% | 23k | $704k (exactly $704,465) | Event Horizon |
 | Banquet for Fools | $19.99 | 936 89% | 28k | $561k (exactly $561,319) | Hannah and Joseph Games | |
 | Caribbean Legend: Age of Pirates | $19.99 | 638 70% | 19k | $383k (exactly $382,609) | ReCon Team | |
 | Weird RPG 2 | $9.99 | 795 92% | 24k | $238k (exactly $238,262) | yuzhen | |
 | Fickle Card Legend | $7.99 | 992 67% | 30k | $238k (exactly $237,782) | 偶尔不帅 | |
 | Ancient Kingdoms | · EA | $15.99 | 473 86% | 14k | $227k (exactly $226,898) | Ancient Pixels |
 | Legends of the Round Table | $29.99 | 127 89% | 3.8k | $114k (exactly $114,262) | Artifice Studio | |
 | Elengard: Ascension | · EA | $24.99 | 116 77% | 3.5k | $87k (exactly $86,965) | Stèphano M. M. G. |
 | Demon Goblin and Mr. Knight 小鬼哥布林與騎士先生 | $9.99 | 231 96% | 6.9k | $69k (exactly $69,231) | Kago, JingShing | |
 | Vampire Syndicate: Gangs of MoonFall | · EA | $19.99 | 111 71% | 3.3k | $67k (exactly $66,567) | A Memory of Eternity |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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