Do I ship it?

GamesJRPGJRPG + Historical

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Historical JRPG?

JRPG + Historical

Of 20 developers who shipped a Historical JRPG 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.. 39 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $9.4k, ×15 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $24M, ×39376 the market median. Revenue is up 210% on the market; 39 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 14.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 210% on the market, 39 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
JRPG + Historical
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $27k → $31k → $15k → $20k → $41k → $5.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for JRPG + Historical: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $1.9k (exactly $1,918)
Median $9.4k (exactly $9,353)
Top 25% $34k (exactly $33,762)
Top 5% $25M (exactly $24,728,167)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 102
Announced 39
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 210% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

JRPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Historical
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
JRPG; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 12,684 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.0k, median $9.4k, 1 in 4 over $33k, 1 in 20 over $24M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 8 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

JRPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds12 devs · median $54k · 6 announced
  2. + Mystery DungeonStrong odds43 devs · median $21k · 23 announced
  3. + NinjaFair7 devs · median $19k · 10 announced
  4. + RomanceFair153 devs · median $13k · 164 announced
  5. + Visual NovelFair219 devs · median $13k · 265 announced
  6. + ManagementFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  7. + Souls-likeFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  8. + Point & ClickFair41 devs · median $8.4k · 45 announced
  9. + LootFair34 devs · median $5.5k · 41 announced
  10. + RoguelikeFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  11. + 2D PlatformerFair150 devs · median $4.2k · 157 announced
  12. + Artificial IntelligenceFair25 devs · median $4.0k · 21 announced

All 142 pairs on the JRPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition older $49.99 33,892 87% 1.0M $51M (exactly $50,827,832) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Nioh: Complete Edition older $49.99 29,580 78% 887k $44M (exactly $44,361,126) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty older $39.99 20,873 49% 626k $25M (exactly $25,041,338) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Nioh 3 $69.99 11,777 78% 353k $25M (exactly $24,728,167) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition older $49.99 11,886 83% 357k $18M (exactly $17,825,434) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
WARRIORS OROCHI 4 older $59.99 4,424 85% 133k $8.0M (exactly $7,961,873) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Fate/Samurai Remnant older $39.99 5,018 90% 151k $6.0M (exactly $6,020,095) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Like a Dragon: Ishin! older $39.99 4,891 80% 147k $5.9M (exactly $5,867,733) RGG Studio
Banner of the Maid older $16.99 6,580 86% 197k $3.4M (exactly $3,353,826) Azure Flame Studio
Felvidek older $10.99 5,576 98% 167k $1.8M (exactly $1,838,407) Jozef Pavelka, Vlado Ganaj
吞食天地之乱舞三国 $13.99 271 92% 8.1k $114k (exactly $113,739) FC Maker
Utawarerumono: ZAN $39.99 85 77% 2.6k $102k (exactly $101,974) AQUAPLUS
Forsaker:DingDing&Blade $10.99 124 75% 3.7k $41k (exactly $40,883) 圣剑提灯制作组 [BladeLanternStudios]
The Dawning Letters -Sunrise- $6.99 161 95% 4.8k $34k (exactly $33,762) 戏幻言制作组
Be Missed and Remembered: The Letter from Mayoiga $17.99 62 93% 1.9k $33k (exactly $33,461) NEKONEKO-SOFT
三国志·天下归心 $9.99 88 69% 2.6k $26k (exactly $26,374) 随浪游戏工作室
RAVENSBURG $14.99 45 95% 1.4k $20k (exactly $20,236) Lilian Duleroux
戦国英雄譚-Samurai Heroes- $9.99 47 89% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,086) hizaniya games
Three Kingdoms : Restoration of Han $12.99 24 33% 720 $9.4k (exactly $9,353) Playnauts

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