Do I ship it?

GamesCRPGCRPG + Incremental

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Incremental CRPG?

CRPG + Incremental

Of 32 developers who shipped an Incremental 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.. 27 more are announced.

Verdict: long shot, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.3 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, but 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×101 the market median. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 27 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 27 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
CRPG + Incremental
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.8k → $1.1k → $6.0k → $299 → $742 → $449 → $1.3k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for CRPG + Incremental: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $4.7k (exactly $4,664)
Top 5% $151k (exactly $150,774)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 75
Announced 27
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 140% on the market, supply 45% more 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
Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
CRPG, Incremental; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Visual Novel, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Emotional
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 2,770 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $450, 1 in 4 over $4.6k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

CRPG with a different second tag, 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. + FMVPoor odds16 devs · median $58k · 14 announced
  7. + Card BattlerPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 28 announced
  8. + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds26 devs · median $23k · 46 announced
  9. + SpacePoor odds11 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpPoor odds13 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  11. + Souls-likePoor odds12 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  12. + DeckbuildingPoor odds12 devs · median $19k · 27 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
Immortal Family older $13.99 1,213 54% 36k $509k (exactly $509,096) 一起来修仙工作室
Handyman Fantasy $7.99 1,607 95% 48k $385k (exactly $385,198) SupaShinKen Studio
Only You $6.99 719 94% 22k $151k (exactly $150,774) 忘雪社
Wishful Journey:Love Across Time older $9.99 426 88% 13k $128k (exactly $127,672) Hillhouse Holdings Limited
Music Band Manager older $7.99 339 52% 10k $81k (exactly $81,258) Hamsters Gaming
孟德大小姐与自爆少年THREE KINGDOM FANTASY older $7.99 307 66% 9.2k $74k (exactly $73,588) 蓝铂工作室
筮灵 SHILING older $7.99 227 71% 6.8k $54k (exactly $54,412) WindField Games
New ZhaoYun older $29.99 25 44% 750 $22k (exactly $22,492) XBZYZ Game
Whisper of Y'Ryando $7.99 89 70% 2.7k $21k (exactly $21,333) IndieCain, YuetXD
Betrayed $14.99 45 82% 1.4k $20k (exactly $20,236) Joraell, Darkmage, Dracula Belmont
My Wife $1.99 143 94% 4.3k $8.5k (exactly $8,537) Neko Game
幻觉病理 $5.99 36 75% 1.1k $6.5k (exactly $6,469) 水仙肉桂
鸿运修仙传 $5.99 34 76% 1.0k $6.1k (exactly $6,110) 玉米工作室
电波奇缘~与时音相会的日子 $2.99 52 96% 1.6k $4.7k (exactly $4,664) 黎厘星游戏工作室
Tail of Glory $4.99 29 100% 870 $4.3k (exactly $4,341) Lascalis
The Lands of Hyberian $4.99 16 100% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) SkyWeb Technologies LLC

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