Games › CRPG › CRPG + Crafting
Should I ship a Crafting CRPG?
CRPG + Crafting
Of 47 developers who shipped a Crafting 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.. 96 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 $2.4k, ×1.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $390k, ×261 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 96 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $538 (exactly $538) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.4k (exactly $2,397) |
| Top 25% | $37k (exactly $36,863) |
| Top 5% | $392k (exactly $391,713) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 47 |
| Released games | 115 |
| Announced | 96 |
| 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 down 35% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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, Crafting; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Exploration, Simulation
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 7,439 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 96 games are announced against 25 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
TaleSpire 2021 · EA · $3.3M 
UnderRail 2015 · $2.9M 
Immortal Life 2024 · $2.0M 
Guild Wars® Reforged 2025 · $2.0M 
Gedonia 2022 · $1.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | TaleSpire | · EA older | $24.99 | 4,391 89% | 132k | $3.3M (exactly $3,291,933) | Bouncyrock Entertainment |
| | UnderRail | older | $14.99 | 6,385 86% | 192k | $2.9M (exactly $2,871,334) | Stygian Software |
| | Immortal Life | older | $16.99 | 3,853 79% | 116k | $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) | YiFang Studio |
| | Guild Wars® Reforged | $19.99 | 3,265 87% | 98k | $2.0M (exactly $1,958,020) | ArenaNet® | |
| | Gedonia | older | $14.99 | 3,659 87% | 110k | $1.6M (exactly $1,645,452) | Kazakov Oleg |
 | Shadows: Awakening | older | $29.99 | 1,535 75% | 46k | $1.4M (exactly $1,381,040) | Games Farm |
 | Blackthorn Arena: Reforged | $24.99 | 882 66% | 26k | $661k (exactly $661,235) | PersonaeGame Studio | |
 | Halcyon Days at Taoyuan | $11.99 | 1,089 89% | 33k | $392k (exactly $391,713) | BotanX | |
 | Labyrinth of Touhou Tri -The Dreaming Girls & The Mysterious Orbs- | $19.99 | 616 82% | 18k | $369k (exactly $369,415) | Nise-Eikoku Studio | |
 | Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator | older | $12.99 | 879 64% | 26k | $343k (exactly $342,546) | Geekon |
 | Creator Chronicles | $11.99 | 424 64% | 13k | $153k (exactly $152,513) | Origin Studio | |
 | 硬币与仙人掌 (Coins & Wishpalm) | $13.99 | 343 77% | 10k | $144k (exactly $143,957) | Moshow Games | |
 | A Hero's Rest: An RPG Town Simulator | $24.99 | 160 67% | 4.8k | $120k (exactly $119,952) | Vanargand Games | |
 | Avernum 4: Greed and Glory | $19.99 | 133 92% | 4.0k | $80k (exactly $79,760) | Spiderweb Software | |
 | Elder Ring | · EA | $9.99 | 230 40% | 6.9k | $69k (exactly $68,931) | Funny as Hell |
 | Immortal Farmer: System’s Mandate | · EA | $4.99 | 297 68% | 8.9k | $44k (exactly $44,461) | oyogame |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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