Should I ship a God Game RPG?
RPG + God Game
Of 42 developers who shipped a God Game 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.. 75 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×468 the market median. Revenue is up 2765% on the market; 75 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $12,792) |
| Top 5% | $294k (exactly $293,597) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 42 |
| Released games | 165 |
| Announced | 75 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 2765% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- RPG, God Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Management
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 3,401 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Craft The World | older | $18.99 | 15,074 88% | 452k | $8.6M (exactly $8,587,658) | Dekovir Entertainment, Sibear Games |
| | Stonehearth | older | $19.99 | 10,652 76% | 320k | $6.4M (exactly $6,388,004) | Radiant Entertainment |
| | SPORE™ Galactic Adventures | older | $19.99 | 7,249 89% | 217k | $4.3M (exactly $4,347,225) | EA - Maxis |
| | Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition | older | $14.99 | 3,579 55% | 107k | $1.6M (exactly $1,609,476) | Klabater |
| | Everything | older | $14.99 | 3,189 83% | 96k | $1.4M (exactly $1,434,093) | David OReilly |
| | Dungeons 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,292 79% | 69k | $1.4M (exactly $1,374,512) | Realmforge Studios |
| | SPORE™ Creepy & Cute Parts Pack | older | $19.99 | 2,053 89% | 62k | $1.2M (exactly $1,231,184) | Maxis™ |
| | Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension | older | $34.99 | 1,124 89% | 34k | $1.2M (exactly $1,179,863) | Illwinter Game Design |
| | Godhood | older | $26.99 | 970 70% | 29k | $785k (exactly $785,409) | Abbey Games |
| | Motesolo : No Girlfriend Since Birth | older | $22.99 | 1,011 86% | 30k | $697k (exactly $697,287) | INDICAVA INTERACTIVE |
| | Gold Gold Adventure Gold | $24.99 | 907 70% | 27k | $680k (exactly $679,978) | Can Can Can a Man | |
| | Fata Deum - The God Sim | · EA | $29.99 | 410 59% | 12k | $369k (exactly $368,877) | 42 Bits Entertainment |
| | MINOS | $17.99 | 544 88% | 16k | $294k (exactly $293,597) | Artificer | |
| | Strange Seed | $14.99 | 431 86% | 13k | $194k (exactly $193,821) | Chronicle Games Ltd | |
| | The Eastern Sacrifice | $9.99 | 356 55% | 11k | $107k (exactly $106,693) | 五条虾仁(5 shrimps) | |
| | 吾皇万岁 | $4.99 | 422 68% | 13k | $63k (exactly $63,173) | AI GAME STUDIO | |
| | My Infamous Dungeon | $14.99 | 63 76% | 1.9k | $28k (exactly $28,331) | BoxFox Studios | |
| | Crownbound - Fantasy Kingdom Sim | $11.99 | 73 47% | 2.2k | $26k (exactly $26,258) | Bart Mamzer | |
| | FALL | $4.99 | 153 88% | 4.6k | $23k (exactly $22,904) | 谭浩翔 | |
| | The Fool's Apprentice | $16.99 | 42 52% | 1.3k | $21k (exactly $21,407) | The Planar Danse |
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.