Should I ship a Dragon PvP game?
PvP + Dragons
Of 22 developers who shipped a paid Dragon PvP game 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.. 4 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 70 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.6k, ×6.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×250 the market median. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 70 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $750 (exactly $750) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.6k (exactly $9,595) |
| Top 25% | $58k (exactly $57,571) |
| Top 5% | $374k (exactly $373,817) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 105 |
| Announced | 70 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $14.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 45%, 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
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, Board Game
- Price point
- $14.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 73% positive over 2,799 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $750. 7 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 70 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin 2021 · $14M 
Dark and Light 2017 · EA · $5.7M 
Day of Dragons 2019 · EA · $3.8M 
Citadel: Forged with Fire 2019 · $2.3M 
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection 2025 · $1.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin | older | $39.99 | 11,845 82% | 355k | $14M (exactly $14,210,446) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | Dark and Light | · EA older | $17.99 | 10,577 51% | 317k | $5.7M (exactly $5,708,407) | Snail Games USA |
| | Day of Dragons | · EA older | $19.99 | 6,278 68% | 188k | $3.8M (exactly $3,764,917) | Beawesome Games |
| | Citadel: Forged with Fire | older | $14.99 | 5,004 67% | 150k | $2.3M (exactly $2,250,299) | Blue Isle Studios |
| | Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection | $49.99 | 1,214 63% | 36k | $1.8M (exactly $1,820,636) | Digital Eclipse | |
 | Monster Hunter Stories | older | $29.99 | 1,615 90% | 48k | $1.5M (exactly $1,453,016) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | CastleMiner Z | older | $5.99 | 7,939 83% | 238k | $1.4M (exactly $1,426,638) | DigitalDNA Games |
 | Driftland: The Magic Revival | older | $19.99 | 1,439 73% | 43k | $863k (exactly $862,968) | Star Drifters |
 | Circle Empires Rivals | older | $15.99 | 1,561 89% | 47k | $749k (exactly $748,812) | Luminous |
 | Clank! | $22.99 | 542 92% | 16k | $374k (exactly $373,817) | Dire Wolf | |
 | Talisman: Digital 5th Edition | $29.99 | 227 70% | 6.8k | $204k (exactly $204,232) | Nomad Games | |
 | Batomon Showdown | $14.99 | 327 87% | 9.8k | $147k (exactly $147,052) | berrymint | |
 | Circle Empires 2 | $12.99 | 266 72% | 8.0k | $104k (exactly $103,660) | Luminous | |
 | Spirit Animal Survival | $19.99 | 96 62% | 2.9k | $58k (exactly $57,571) | TRUEFX GAMES | |
 | Lunars | · EA | $14.99 | 40 97% | 1.2k | $18k (exactly $17,988) | Anubis Arts |
 | Ariokan™ - create your cards, break the Meta | $29.99 | 18 94% | 540 | $16k (exactly $16,195) | Fatum Games SL | |
 | Heroes of Mount Dragon | $19.99 | 27 66% | 810 | $16k (exactly $16,192) | RuniQ | |
 | Warena | $9.99 | 42 52% | 1.3k | $13k (exactly $12,587) | Part Time Monkey |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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