Do I ship it?

Games › Hero Shooter › Hero Shooter + RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an RPG Hero Shooter?

Hero Shooter + RPG

Of 35 developers who shipped an RPG Hero Shooter 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.. 58 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 9 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $150 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build. 16 developers shipped in the last year and 58 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 58 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hero Shooter + RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $416 → $419 → $713 → $299 → $150 → $179 → $148 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hero Shooter + RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $150 (exactly $150)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,336)
Top 5% $12k (exactly $11,696)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 125
Announced 58
Effort 9 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 20% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Hero Shooter
effort 9 / 10 · low · competitive netcode plus hero balance and content cadence
RPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Hero Shooter, RPG; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Shooter, Action, Action-Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 337 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $150, 1 in 4 over $1.3k, 1 in 20 over $11k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hero Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SimulationLong shot31 devs · median $478 · 28 announced
  2. + Bullet HellLong shot59 devs · median $449 · 56 announced
  3. + Boomer ShooterLong shot30 devs · median $210 · 21 announced
  4. + MedievalLong shot10 devs · median $150 · 12 announced
  5. + Online Co-OpPoor odds20 devs · median $7.2k · 51 announced
  6. + SuperheroPoor odds6 devs · median $6.3k · 11 announced
  7. + Battle RoyalePoor odds9 devs · median $3.6k · 29 announced
  8. + Co-opPoor odds22 devs · median $3.6k · 53 announced
  9. + PvPPoor odds27 devs · median $2.3k · 127 announced
  10. + PlatformerPoor odds21 devs · median $2.2k · 33 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds25 devs · median $2.1k · 68 announced
  12. + PhysicsPoor odds27 devs · median $1.6k · 34 announced

All 87 pairs on the Hero Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok 2024 · $1.9M Black Gunner Wukong 2024 · $125k Deadrock Redemption 2 2025 · $55k Grand Pigeon's Duty 2016 · $54k OTTTD 2014 · $46k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok older $9.99 6,180 88% 185k $1.9M (exactly $1,852,146) Noxfall Studios
Black Gunner Wukong older $9.99 417 98% 13k $125k (exactly $124,975) Wukong
Deadrock Redemption 2 $14.99 123 86% 3.7k $55k (exactly $55,313) Entropy Digital Entertainment
Grand Pigeon's Duty older $3.99 448 76% 13k $54k (exactly $53,626) WolfgangIs
OTTTD older $7.99 190 78% 5.7k $46k (exactly $45,543) SMG Studio
Precursors older $14.99 72 76% 2.2k $32k (exactly $32,378) Deep Shadows
The Lord of the Parties older $15.99 38 68% 1.1k $18k (exactly $18,229) Magic Cube, Dizcon
WarOfGods 2 $29.99 13 76% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Mensa World
Deadrock Salvation $9.99 38 86% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) Ghost Machine
The Mythical City older $9.99 38 60% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) Gamesforgames
Damsels in Distress $8.99 36 83% 1.1k $9.7k (exactly $9,709) Anime Mania
Kebabstar 🌯⭐ · EA $14.99 14 78% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) Zeybek
Lycoris $9.99 15 33% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Miki Games
Doom Survivor: Horde Rush $2.99 38 86% 1.1k $3.4k (exactly $3,409) Crazy Studio
Cyborg: Rise $7.99 13 92% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) fish world
MEMOLOGY: ITALIAN MEME WAR $0.99 45 97% 1.4k $1.3k (exactly $1,336) Piece Of Voxel, Gamesforfarm
Armed Animals RPG $15.99 2 100% 60 $959 (exactly $959) Strejda Jenda Productions

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.