Should I ship a Loot CRPG?
CRPG + Loot
Of 30 developers who shipped a Loot 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.. 34 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $450k, ×306 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 34 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $390 (exactly $390) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.1k (exactly $2,097) |
| Top 25% | $26k (exactly $26,422) |
| Top 5% | $458k (exactly $458,171) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 30 |
| Released games | 79 |
| Announced | 34 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 65% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, 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, Loot; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Action RPG
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 3,478 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $390. 7 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 19 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
- + 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Stolen Realm | older | $19.99 | 3,470 84% | 104k | $2.1M (exactly $2,080,959) | Burst2Flame Games |
| | Shadows: Awakening | older | $29.99 | 1,535 75% | 46k | $1.4M (exactly $1,381,040) | Games Farm |
| | FANTASIAN Neo Dimension | $49.99 | 500 76% | 15k | $750k (exactly $749,850) | Mistwalker Corporation | |
| | The Use of Life | $19.99 | 764 90% | 23k | $458k (exactly $458,171) | だらねこげーむず/Daraneko Games | |
| | Robber Knight | · EA older | $39.99 | 284 64% | 8.5k | $341k (exactly $340,715) | Sartorian |
| | Shadowhand: RPG Card Game | older | $16.99 | 668 82% | 20k | $340k (exactly $340,480) | Grey Alien Games |
| | Ember | older | $9.99 | 905 75% | 27k | $271k (exactly $271,228) | N-Fusion Interactive |
| | Fickle Card Legend | $7.99 | 992 67% | 30k | $238k (exactly $237,782) | 偶尔不帅 | |
| | 硬币与仙人掌 (Coins & Wishpalm) | $13.99 | 343 77% | 10k | $144k (exactly $143,957) | Moshow Games | |
| | Entropy | · EA | $11.99 | 293 94% | 8.8k | $105k (exactly $105,392) | Lovely Hellplace |
| | ANIWARS: Call of the Void | · EA | $12.99 | 184 93% | 5.5k | $72k (exactly $71,705) | Breaker Interactive |
| | XiuzhenWorld2 | $12.99 | 134 67% | 4.0k | $52k (exactly $52,220) | Noforgetit | |
| | Three Kingdoms Heroes | $6.99 | 126 81% | 3.8k | $26k (exactly $26,422) | 青衣工作室 | |
| | DarkStone Restoration | · EA | $10.99 | 63 96% | 1.9k | $21k (exactly $20,771) | Paul Cuisset |
| | Six-Ear Macaque: Awakening | $6.99 | 79 98% | 2.4k | $17k (exactly $16,566) | 红景天娱乐 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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