Should I ship an FMV CRPG?
CRPG + FMV
Only 16 developers shipped an FMV 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, Mandate Of Heaven, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 14 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $58k, ×39 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $5.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.4M, ×1635 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 14 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $5.2k (exactly $5,240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $58k (exactly $58,044) |
| Top 25% | $347k (exactly $346,947) |
| Top 5% | $2.4M (exactly $2,449,066) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 32 |
| Announced | 14 |
| 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 40% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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, FMV; all of the top 25% also carry Interactive Fiction, Multiple Endings, RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cinematic, Story Rich, Emotional
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 11,322 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $5.3k. 3 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 14 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
CRPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + IncrementalLong shot
- + Card BattlerPoor odds
- + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds
- + SpacePoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + DeckbuildingPoor odds
Comparable games
Mandate Of Heaven 2025 · $2.4M 
咸鱼殿下 / My journey 2025 · $712k 
Hua Manlou 2026 · $488k 
哎呦!这么多美女呀! 2025 · $347k 
Wishful Journey:Love Across Time 2024 · $128k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mandate Of Heaven | $14.99 | 5,446 91% | 163k | $2.4M (exactly $2,449,066) | 木焱工作室 | |
| | 咸鱼殿下 / My journey | $11.99 | 1,979 85% | 59k | $712k (exactly $711,846) | 大聪明工作室 | |
| | Hua Manlou | $10.99 | 1,481 97% | 44k | $488k (exactly $488,286) | 初域游戏 | |
| | 哎呦!这么多美女呀! | $18.99 | 609 91% | 18k | $347k (exactly $346,947) | Hangzhou Miqi Technology Co.,Ltd | |
| | Wishful Journey:Love Across Time | older | $9.99 | 426 88% | 13k | $128k (exactly $127,672) | Hillhouse Holdings Limited |
 | Latex & Tentacles | $10.99 | 343 67% | 10k | $113k (exactly $113,087) | ZXC, GODNASK | |
 | 这个CEO我当定了！ | $7.99 | 462 82% | 14k | $111k (exactly $110,741) | 叁石肆两 | |
 | Don't FOOL ME, Beauties! | $9.99 | 367 86% | 11k | $110k (exactly $109,990) | Storytaco | |
 | Beauties and the Stranded | $15.99 | 121 73% | 3.6k | $58k (exactly $58,044) | storytaco | |
 | Time Space Rebuild | $4.99 | 377 76% | 11k | $56k (exactly $56,437) | INNOVATION DREAM | |
 | 东北往事 | $8.99 | 137 81% | 4.1k | $37k (exactly $36,949) | 二狗科技 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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