Games › JRPG › JRPG + Metroidvania
Should I ship a Metroidvania JRPG?
JRPG + Metroidvania
Only 16 developers shipped a Metroidvania JRPG 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, Kotama and Academy Citadel, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 37 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $12k, ×20 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $4.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.5M, ×2427 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 37 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $4.2k (exactly $4,200) |
|---|---|
| Median | $12k (exactly $12,372) |
| Top 25% | $166k (exactly $166,433) |
| Top 5% | $1.5M (exactly $1,524,437) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 63 |
| Announced | 37 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $10.00 |
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 down 30% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 2%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Metroidvania
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- JRPG, Metroidvania; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $10.00 typical · top 25% priced $54.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $54.99 or above; the middle game at $10.00.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 4,223 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $4.2k. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
JRPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Mystery DungeonStrong odds
- + NinjaFair
- + RomanceFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + ManagementFair
- + Souls-likeFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LootFair
- + RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
Comparable games
ASTLIBRA Revision 2022 · $23M 
Monster Sanctuary 2020 · $6.2M 
DEAD OR SCHOOL 2019 · $2.0M 
Phoenotopia: Awakening 2021 · $1.7M 
Kotama and Academy Citadel 2026 · $1.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ASTLIBRA Revision | older | $24.99 | 30,262 95% | 908k | $23M (exactly $22,687,421) | KEIZO |
| | Monster Sanctuary | older | $19.99 | 10,416 91% | 312k | $6.2M (exactly $6,246,475) | moi rai games |
| | DEAD OR SCHOOL | older | $24.99 | 2,607 84% | 78k | $2.0M (exactly $1,954,468) | Studio Nanafushi |
| | Phoenotopia: Awakening | older | $19.99 | 2,755 82% | 83k | $1.7M (exactly $1,652,173) | Cape Cosmic |
| | Kotama and Academy Citadel | $19.99 | 2,542 80% | 76k | $1.5M (exactly $1,524,437) | Atomstring Games | |
 | Indivisible | older | $19.99 | 2,458 72% | 74k | $1.5M (exactly $1,474,063) | Lab Zero Games |
 | Frontier Hunter: Erza’s Wheel of Fortune | older | $24.99 | 1,914 82% | 57k | $1.4M (exactly $1,434,926) | IceSitruuna |
 | Dragon Marked For Death | older | $39.99 | 985 77% | 30k | $1.2M (exactly $1,181,704) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. |
 | Gestalt: Steam & Cinder | older | $19.99 | 1,850 79% | 56k | $1.1M (exactly $1,109,445) | Metamorphosis Games |
 | Crystal Project | older | $13.99 | 2,510 91% | 75k | $1.1M (exactly $1,053,447) | Andrew Willman |
 | KYOTO XANADU -the Blooming Phantom- | $54.99 | 403 78% | 12k | $665k (exactly $664,829) | Nihon Falcom | |
 | 3dSen PC | $14.99 | 524 91% | 16k | $236k (exactly $235,643) | Geod Studio | |
 | Fallen Tear: The Ascension | · EA | $24.99 | 222 81% | 6.7k | $166k (exactly $166,433) | Winter Crew Studios |
 | Dungeons And Cat | $9.99 | 193 88% | 5.8k | $58k (exactly $57,842) | CatBellUnion | |
 | Welcome to Planet E1d0r4d0! | $8.99 | 119 68% | 3.6k | $32k (exactly $32,094) | LuluGames | |
 | Witchroid Vania: A Magical Girl’s Fantastical Adventures | $11.99 | 86 91% | 2.6k | $31k (exactly $30,934) | Turkey Games | |
 | Palm Sugar: A Village Story | $6.99 | 59 94% | 1.8k | $12k (exactly $12,372) | Mono Tusk Studios | |
 | Wings of Endless | $12.99 | 31 80% | 930 | $12k (exactly $12,081) | Isoca Games | |
 | Buffet Knight - Decadent Full Course | $4.99 | 44 97% | 1.3k | $6.6k (exactly $6,587) | Nowis-337 Games |
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.