Do I ship it?

Games › JRPG › JRPG + LGBTQ+

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an LGBTQ+ JRPG?

JRPG + LGBTQ+

Of 74 developers who shipped an LGBTQ+ 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.. 90 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.1k, ×8.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×334 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 90 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 90 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
JRPG + LGBTQ+
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 74
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.9k → $53k → $6.7k → $3.2k → $13k → $10k → $1.1k (still earning) → $8.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for JRPG + LGBTQ+: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 74
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $5.1k (exactly $5,124)
Top 25% $26k (exactly $26,240)
Top 5% $210k (exactly $209,958)
Developers, 2 yr 74
Released games 253
Announced 90
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 20% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
LGBTQ+
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high 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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Turn-Based Combat
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Story Rich, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 98% positive over 128,512 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $5.1k, 1 in 4 over $26k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 49 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 90 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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

DELTARUNE 2025 · $94M Ruined King: A League of Legends Story™ 2021 · $9.6M Haven 2020 · $4.0M Cloud Meadow 2020 · EA · $3.1M Eternights 2023 · $2.7M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
DELTARUNE $24.99 124,894 98% 3.7M $94M (exactly $93,633,032) tobyfox
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story™ older $29.99 10,623 88% 319k $9.6M (exactly $9,557,513) Airship Syndicate
Haven older $24.99 5,294 88% 159k $4.0M (exactly $3,968,912) The Game Bakers
Cloud Meadow · EA older $19.99 5,134 85% 154k $3.1M (exactly $3,078,860) Team Nimbus
Eternights older $29.99 3,046 85% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,740,486) Studio Sai
BLUE REFLECTION older $59.99 1,267 79% 38k $2.3M (exactly $2,280,220) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Noctuary older $29.99 2,371 94% 71k $2.1M (exactly $2,133,189) Gratesca
BLUE REFLECTION: Second Light older $59.99 948 82% 28k $1.7M (exactly $1,706,116) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Indivisible older $19.99 2,458 72% 74k $1.5M (exactly $1,474,063) Lab Zero Games
Demons Roots older $19.99 2,275 93% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,364,318) Quick nail Aristocrat
Happy Island Fantasy $14.99 1,186 88% 36k $533k (exactly $533,344) HappyCreator
Spooky Milk Life · EA $11.99 1,216 74% 36k $437k (exactly $437,395) MangoMango, Studio Ginkgo
BLUE REFLECTION Quartet $49.99 140 57% 4.2k $210k (exactly $209,958) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Beloved Rapture $19.99 237 82% 7.1k $142k (exactly $142,129) Rapturous Studio
Monster Souls: Chains of Chimera $34.99 112 90% 3.4k $118k (exactly $117,566) inputHero
Wander Stars $24.99 148 92% 4.4k $111k (exactly $110,956) Paper Castle Games
Femtazio $9.99 304 81% 9.1k $91k (exactly $91,109) Aerisetta
Maliki : Poison Of The Past $29.99 95 93% 2.9k $85k (exactly $85,472) Blue Banshee
Isekai Bistro $10.99 180 78% 5.4k $59k (exactly $59,346) DarkShadow Studio

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