Games › Party-Based RPG › Party-Based RPG + Dragons
Should I ship a Dragon Party-Based RPG?
Party-Based RPG + Dragons
Of 25 developers who shipped a Dragon Party-Based RPG 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.. 41 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $7.8k, ×12 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $3.8M, ×6127 the market median. Revenue is up 640% on the market; 41 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.8k (exactly $7,794) |
| Top 25% | $63k (exactly $62,637) |
| Top 5% | $3.8M (exactly $3,847,759) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 80 |
| Announced | 41 |
| 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 640% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Party-Based RPG
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Dragons
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Party-Based RPG; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Exploration, JRPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Pixel Graphics, Retro
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 6,514 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 7 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Party-Based RPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Board GameFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + BuildingPoor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
- + IncrementalPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition | older | $29.99 | 28,721 85% | 862k | $26M (exactly $25,840,284) | BioWare |
| | DRAGON QUEST® XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age™ - Definitive Edition | older | $39.99 | 10,446 92% | 313k | $13M (exactly $12,532,066) | Square Enix |
| | Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma | $59.99 | 2,947 88% | 88k | $5.3M (exactly $5,303,716) | Marvelous Inc. | |
| | DRAGON QUEST VII Reimagined | $59.99 | 2,138 88% | 64k | $3.8M (exactly $3,847,759) | Square Enix, HEXADRIVE Inc. | |
| | DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince | older | $39.99 | 1,158 71% | 35k | $1.4M (exactly $1,389,253) | Square Enix |
| | Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord | older | $34.99 | 1,209 77% | 36k | $1.3M (exactly $1,269,087) | Digital Eclipse |
| | LiEat | older | $2.99 | 4,036 96% | 121k | $362k (exactly $362,029) | △○□× (Miwashiba) |
| | Wayblazer Dämmerung | $39.99 | 244 65% | 7.3k | $293k (exactly $292,727) | Eushully | |
| | Crimson Tactics: The Rise of The White Banner | older | $29.99 | 245 46% | 7.4k | $220k (exactly $220,426) | Black March Studios |
| | Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown | older | $19.99 | 284 94% | 8.5k | $170k (exactly $170,315) | Silver Lemur Games |
| | Beloved Rapture | $19.99 | 237 82% | 7.1k | $142k (exactly $142,129) | Rapturous Studio | |
| | Scarmonde | $13.99 | 215 98% | 6.5k | $90k (exactly $90,236) | Ephiam | |
| | Dark Quest 4 | $19.99 | 136 75% | 4.1k | $82k (exactly $81,559) | Brain Seal Ltd | |
| | Dragon Ruins II | $9.99 | 209 87% | 6.3k | $63k (exactly $62,637) | Graverobber Foundation | |
| | Prophecy of Ashen | $9.99 | 201 76% | 6.0k | $60k (exactly $60,240) | hhyuGame | |
| | Umbra: The Last Summoner | $29.99 | 59 72% | 1.8k | $53k (exactly $53,082) | EpiRPG | |
| | Swords And Magic: Path Of Conquest | · EA | $9.99 | 128 77% | 3.8k | $38k (exactly $38,362) | ShadowMoon Wolf Game Tech Ltd |
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.