Games › RPG › RPG + Dynamic Narration
Should I ship a Dynamic Narration RPG?
RPG + Dynamic Narration
Of 80 developers who shipped a Dynamic Narration 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.. 173 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $380k, ×619 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 173 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) |
| Top 25% | $6.0k (exactly $5,997) |
| Top 5% | $389k (exactly $388,990) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 80 |
| Released games | 202 |
| Announced | 173 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 10% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- RPG
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Dynamic Narration
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- RPG, Dynamic Narration; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Choices Matter, Interactive Fiction, Adventure
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 19,221 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 44 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 173 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + IdlerFair
- + Boss RushFair
- + SportsFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
- + MinigamesPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
Comparable games
Bastion 2011 · $13M 
Drova - Forsaken Kin 2024 · $7.1M 
Mandate Of Heaven 2025 · $2.4M 
Curious Expedition 2 2021 · $2.3M 
Curious Expedition 2016 · $1.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Bastion | older | $14.99 | 28,223 95% | 847k | $13M (exactly $12,691,883) | Supergiant Games |
| | Drova - Forsaken Kin | $24.99 | 9,455 93% | 284k | $7.1M (exactly $7,088,414) | Just2D | |
| | Mandate Of Heaven | $14.99 | 5,446 91% | 163k | $2.4M (exactly $2,449,066) | 木焱工作室 | |
| | Curious Expedition 2 | older | $19.99 | 3,861 88% | 116k | $2.3M (exactly $2,315,442) | Maschinen-Mensch |
| | Curious Expedition | older | $14.99 | 3,951 91% | 119k | $1.8M (exactly $1,776,765) | Maschinen-Mensch |
 | CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience | older | $19.99 | 2,596 91% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,556,821) | Delve Interactive |
 | Songs for a Hero - Definitive Edition | older | $14.99 | 2,414 96% | 72k | $1.1M (exactly $1,085,576) | Dumativa, Castro Brothers |
 | Stories: The Path of Destinies | older | $14.99 | 1,943 87% | 58k | $874k (exactly $873,767) | Spearhead Games |
 | Omensight: Definitive Edition | older | $19.99 | 1,174 88% | 35k | $704k (exactly $704,048) | Spearhead Games |
 | All Quiet in the Trenches | · EA older | $24.99 | 921 90% | 28k | $690k (exactly $690,474) | Totally Not Aliens |
 | Corruption Town | · EA | $14.99 | 992 88% | 30k | $446k (exactly $446,102) | BoredBasmati |
 | Witchy Business | $14.99 | 865 86% | 26k | $389k (exactly $388,990) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
 | Under The Island | $19.99 | 446 92% | 13k | $267k (exactly $267,466) | Slime King Games | |
 | Heaven Does Not Respond | $9.99 | 530 90% | 16k | $159k (exactly $158,841) | Rise Studios | |
 | Hymer 2000 | $4.99 | 1,031 89% | 31k | $154k (exactly $154,341) | doBell | |
 | Dustgrave: A Sandbox RPG | · EA | $21.99 | 94 71% | 2.8k | $62k (exactly $62,012) | Innervoid Interactive |
 | Ballshit | $7.99 | 228 95% | 6.8k | $55k (exactly $54,652) | 疯兔游戏（FUNTOO Studio）, Liquid Meow | |
 | Run TavernQuest | $12.99 | 134 93% | 4.0k | $52k (exactly $52,220) | Silicon Sundial |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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