Should I ship a Fantasy MOBA?
MOBA + Fantasy
Only 18 developers shipped a paid Fantasy MOBA in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Shape of Dreams, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 5 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 85 more are announced, ×8.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 9 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×2.0 the market's $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $11M, ×8777 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 85 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) |
| Top 25% | $16k (exactly $15,750) |
| Top 5% | $12M (exactly $11,822,019) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 103 |
| Announced | 85 |
| Effort | 9 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 54%, 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
- 9 / 10 · studio only
- Systems
- MOBA; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Combat
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 18,068 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 85 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×8.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
MOBA with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RoguelitePoor odds
- + AdventurePoor odds
- + Tower DefensePoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + ActionPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + RPGPoor odds
- + Hero ShooterDead
- + SurvivalDead
- + Battle RoyaleDead
Comparable games
FOR HONOR™ 2017 · $98M 
Shape of Dreams 2025 · $12M 
Bishojo Mangekyo Kotowari to Meikyu no Shojo 2021 · $2.4M 
Gigantic: Rampage Edition 2024 · $2.3M 
BLACK CLOVER: QUARTET KNIGHTS 2018 · $1.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | FOR HONOR™ | older | $29.99 | 108,492 69% | 3.3M | $98M (exactly $97,610,252) | Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubiso… (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft Toronto, Blue Byte) |
| | Shape of Dreams | $24.99 | 15,769 89% | 473k | $12M (exactly $11,822,019) | Lizard Smoothie | |
| | Bishojo Mangekyo Kotowari to Meikyu no Shojo | older | $29.99 | 2,718 95% | 82k | $2.4M (exactly $2,445,385) | ωstar, Seikei Production |
| | Gigantic: Rampage Edition | older | $19.99 | 3,795 65% | 114k | $2.3M (exactly $2,275,862) | Abstraction Games |
| | BLACK CLOVER: QUARTET KNIGHTS | older | $49.99 | 832 75% | 25k | $1.2M (exactly $1,247,750) | ILINX, Inc. |
 | EverSiege: Untold Ages | $19.99 | 1,906 68% | 57k | $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028) | Tindalos Interactive | |
 | Demigod | older | $9.99 | 1,011 75% | 30k | $303k (exactly $302,997) | Gas Powered Games |
 | Pennon and Battle | $18.99 | 175 69% | 5.3k | $100k (exactly $99,697) | PB Studio | |
 | War of Wizards | older | $19.99 | 140 70% | 4.2k | $84k (exactly $83,958) | Arcane Miracle Entertainment |
 | STARVAULT VR | $24.99 | 66 89% | 2.0k | $49k (exactly $49,480) | Theia Games | |
 | FMTC | $7.00 | 75 78% | 2.3k | $16k (exactly $15,750) | FMTC | |
 | Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss | $19.99 | 22 63% | 660 | $13k (exactly $13,193) | Polyarc | |
 | Luna & Sol: Nightmare Ward | $7.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $3.1k (exactly $3,116) | PLAY Mephistowaltz | |
 | Battle Waves: Card Tactics | $5.99 | 15 73% | 450 | $2.7k (exactly $2,696) | CAGE Studios | |
 | 女神試煉 Quest of Goddess | $4.99 | 18 94% | 540 | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) | DNAXCAT CO., LTD. | |
 | Adversator | $8.99 | 9 88% | 270 | $2.4k (exactly $2,427) | Paradoks |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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