Do I ship it?

Games › JRPG › JRPG + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon JRPG?

JRPG + Demons

Of 45 developers who shipped a Demon JRPG 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.. 58 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.1k, ×6.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×464 the market median. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 58 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 58 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
JRPG + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 45
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $899 → $7.2k → $3.6k → $1.5k → $3.6k → $5.4k (still earning) → $43k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for JRPG + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 45
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $4.1k (exactly $4,126)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,591)
Top 5% $292k (exactly $291,551)
Developers, 2 yr 45
Released games 121
Announced 58
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 170% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

JRPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
JRPG; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 2,272 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $4.1k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $290k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 9 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds12 devs · median $54k · 6 announced
  2. + Mystery DungeonStrong odds43 devs · median $21k · 23 announced
  3. + NinjaFair7 devs · median $19k · 10 announced
  4. + RomanceFair153 devs · median $13k · 164 announced
  5. + Visual NovelFair219 devs · median $13k · 265 announced
  6. + ManagementFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  7. + Souls-likeFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  8. + Point & ClickFair41 devs · median $8.4k · 45 announced
  9. + LootFair34 devs · median $5.5k · 41 announced
  10. + RoguelikeFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  11. + 2D PlatformerFair150 devs · median $4.2k · 157 announced
  12. + Artificial IntelligenceFair25 devs · median $4.0k · 21 announced

All 142 pairs on the JRPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

ASTLIBRA Revision 2022 · $23M Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance 2024 · $14M Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster 2021 · $6.0M Soul Hackers 2 2022 · $4.1M Disgaea PC 2016 · $2.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ASTLIBRA Revision older $24.99 30,262 95% 908k $23M (exactly $22,687,421) KEIZO
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance older $59.99 7,858 91% 236k $14M (exactly $14,142,043) ATLUS
Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster older $49.99 3,989 87% 120k $6.0M (exactly $5,982,303) ATLUS
Soul Hackers 2 older $59.99 2,300 65% 69k $4.1M (exactly $4,139,310) ATLUS
Disgaea PC older $19.99 4,296 87% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,576,311) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Toukiden 2 older $59.99 1,177 80% 35k $2.1M (exactly $2,118,247) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Toukiden: Kiwami older $59.99 1,134 69% 34k $2.0M (exactly $2,040,860) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army $49.99 1,045 93% 31k $1.6M (exactly $1,567,186) ATLUS
Tower and Sword of Succubus older $12.99 818 85% 25k $319k (exactly $318,775) Libra Heart
Wayblazer Dämmerung $39.99 244 65% 7.3k $293k (exactly $292,727) Eushully
FAIRY TAIL 2 $59.99 162 61% 4.9k $292k (exactly $291,551) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
The Brave of Boner and the Demon of Halphas $13.99 248 95% 7.4k $104k (exactly $104,086) AVANTGARDE
Cladun X3 $39.99 83 90% 2.5k $100k (exactly $99,575) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Married Into Hell $11.99 265 80% 8.0k $95k (exactly $95,320) WorkNite Games
Disgaea Mayhem $59.99 43 65% 1.3k $77k (exactly $77,387) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
LABYRINTHOS: The Depths Want You $24.99 57 84% 1.7k $43k (exactly $42,733) Astronauts
Weirdlands $19.99 53 98% 1.6k $32k (exactly $31,784) Martin Mejak
Makai Agito $9.99 72 94% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,578) Gumi Bytes, Dani Sugimoto-Lee

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