Do I ship it?

GamesCRPGCRPG + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon CRPG?

CRPG + Demons

Only 19 developers shipped a Demon CRPG in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Thousand Hells: The Underworld Heists, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 36 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270. 36 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper, while revenue is down 50% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 36 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
CRPG + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3M → $3.6k → $1.8k → $3.3k → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for CRPG + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $270 (exactly $270)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $11,692)
Top 5% $57k (exactly $56,977)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 54
Announced 36
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 down 50% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

CRPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Demons
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
CRPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action, Action RPG
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 399 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $600, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $56k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

CRPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $26k · 14 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair84 devs · median $2.4k · 95 announced
  3. + TabletopFair22 devs · median $1.9k · 26 announced
  4. + Traditional RoguelikeFair12 devs · median $1.9k · 13 announced
  5. + 2D PlatformerFair62 devs · median $1.2k · 76 announced
  6. + IncrementalLong shot32 devs · median $449 · 27 announced
  7. + FMVPoor odds16 devs · median $58k · 14 announced
  8. + Card BattlerPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 28 announced
  9. + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds26 devs · median $23k · 46 announced
  10. + SpacePoor odds11 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds13 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  12. + Souls-likePoor odds12 devs · median $20k · 24 announced

All 123 pairs on the CRPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Thaumaturge older $34.99 3,888 81% 117k $4.1M (exactly $4,081,234) Fool's Theory
Shadows: Awakening older $29.99 1,535 75% 46k $1.4M (exactly $1,381,040) Games Farm
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord older $34.99 1,209 77% 36k $1.3M (exactly $1,269,087) Digital Eclipse
1428: Shadows over Silesia older $19.99 201 72% 6.0k $121k (exactly $120,540) KUBI Games
Thousand Hells: The Underworld Heists $24.99 76 78% 2.3k $57k (exactly $56,977) A Sharp
Inferno - Beyond the 7th Circle older $16.99 108 74% 3.2k $55k (exactly $55,048) 68k Studios
Zavix Tower older $9.99 174 63% 5.2k $52k (exactly $52,148) Batholith Entertainment
Abyss Of Pleasure $11.80 139 88% 4.2k $49k (exactly $49,206) Jpegsama
Dead Static Drive $29.99 43 37% 1.3k $39k (exactly $38,687) Reuben Games
Dungeon of Erotic Master Plus older $12.99 76 85% 2.3k $30k (exactly $29,617) Rushimarudo
Magissy $14.99 52 46% 1.6k $23k (exactly $23,384) Bit Fat Games
Succubers! Dark Covenant $14.99 26 61% 780 $12k (exactly $11,692) Mikan Batake
Depths of Faveg $4.99 24 79% 720 $3.6k (exactly $3,593) guipadgon
Drowning Ashes · EA $9.99 11 100% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Elston Studios
Call for Heroes: Pompolic Wars $4.99 14 35% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,096) Quotix Software
Witch Stories $4.99 12 91% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Stephen Scott Day
Celestine $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Cherry Bloom

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