Should I ship an Economy CRPG?
CRPG + Economy
Only 14 developers shipped an Economy 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, Big Ambitions, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.8k, ×4.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $10M, ×7288 the market median. Revenue is up 150% on the market; 25 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.8k (exactly $6,834) |
| Top 25% | $120k (exactly $119,952) |
| Top 5% | $11M (exactly $10,918,139) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 14 |
| Released games | 33 |
| Announced | 25 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 150% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 3%, 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, Economy
- Price point
- $11.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 15,147 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Big Ambitions | $25.99 | 14,003 92% | 420k | $11M (exactly $10,918,139) | Hovgaard Games | |
| | Dungeon Alchemist | · EA older | $44.99 | 2,666 94% | 80k | $3.6M (exactly $3,598,300) | Briganti |
| | Immortal Life | older | $16.99 | 3,853 79% | 116k | $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) | YiFang Studio |
| | Raiders! Forsaken Earth | older | $19.99 | 268 80% | 8.0k | $161k (exactly $160,720) | Creative Storm Entertainment |
| | Creator Chronicles | $11.99 | 424 64% | 13k | $153k (exactly $152,513) | Origin Studio | |
| | Monarch : Medieval Remastered | $11.99 | 365 80% | 11k | $131k (exactly $131,290) | Mr.Lordy | |
| | A Hero's Rest: An RPG Town Simulator | $24.99 | 160 67% | 4.8k | $120k (exactly $119,952) | Vanargand Games | |
| | Merchant of the Six Kingdoms | older | $14.99 | 221 91% | 6.6k | $99k (exactly $99,384) | Cory Long |
| | Music Band Manager | older | $7.99 | 339 52% | 10k | $81k (exactly $81,258) | Hamsters Gaming |
| | Hotel Business Simulator | older | $12.99 | 191 46% | 5.7k | $74k (exactly $74,433) | Geekon |
| | PuPu's Adventure Park | $14.99 | 130 64% | 3.9k | $58k (exactly $58,461) | 西梅树工作室 | |
| | Holonoptic | $19.95 | 16 93% | 480 | $9.6k (exactly $9,576) | Glazial | |
| | Station Master RPG | · EA | $11.99 | 19 78% | 570 | $6.8k (exactly $6,834) | Telegraph Studios |
| | Bratki | $5.99 | 11 72% | 330 | $2.0k (exactly $1,977) | VZLab | |
| | Card Streamer Simulator | $2.99 | 17 52% | 510 | $1.5k (exactly $1,525) | Scissors Game | |
| | The Farming Frontier | $9.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $599 (exactly $599) | Cuneyt Aliustaoglu |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.