Do I ship it?

GamesPvPPvP + JRPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvP JRPG?

PvP + JRPG

Only 19 developers shipped a paid PvP 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, INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 5 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 34 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $94k, ×63 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $32k; 1 in 20 cleared $23M, ×15671 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 34 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 63.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 34 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvP + JRPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5M → $1.0M → $500k → $265k → $62k → $31k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvP + JRPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $31k (exactly $31,029)
Median $94k (exactly $94,437)
Top 25% $927k (exactly $927,368)
Top 5% $23M (exactly $23,474,646)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 89
Announced 34
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $19.99

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 down 75% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 47%, 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.

PvP
effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
JRPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
PvP, JRPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Character Customization, RPG
Price point
$19.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Story Rich, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $19.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 18,273 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $32k, median $94k, 1 in 4 over $920k, 1 in 20 over $23M.

3 in 10 developers made under $32k. 3 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + BaseballFair6 devs · median $7.6k · 9 announced
  2. + TransportationFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + BasketballFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  4. + Football (American)Fair17 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  5. + BikesFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  6. + GolfFair29 devs · median $1.4k · 34 announced
  7. + World War IFair12 devs · median $1.3k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair36 devs · median $1.2k · 48 announced
  9. + BilliardsFair18 devs · median $1.1k · 12 announced
  10. + TennisLong shot17 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  11. + TypingLong shot28 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  12. + SpellingLong shot14 devs · median $719 · 17 announced

All 247 pairs on the PvP page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Temtem older $44.99 31,263 82% 938k $42M (exactly $42,195,671) Crema
INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road $69.99 11,180 88% 335k $23M (exactly $23,474,646) LEVEL5 Inc.
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition older $49.99 10,810 89% 324k $16M (exactly $16,211,757) h.a.n.d., Inc., Media.Vision Inc.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin older $39.99 11,845 82% 355k $14M (exactly $14,210,446) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Monster Sanctuary older $19.99 10,416 91% 312k $6.2M (exactly $6,246,475) moi rai games
Granblue Fantasy: Versus older $19.99 7,631 83% 229k $4.6M (exactly $4,576,311) Cygames, Inc., Arc System Works
STRANGER OF PARADISE FINAL FANTASY ORIGIN older $39.99 3,735 82% 112k $4.5M (exactly $4,480,880) Square Enix, KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising older $24.99 5,944 83% 178k $4.5M (exactly $4,456,217) Cygames, Inc., Arc System Works
Coromon older $19.99 6,327 85% 190k $3.8M (exactly $3,794,302) TRAGsoft
SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION older $59.99 1,404 82% 42k $2.5M (exactly $2,526,779) Dimps Corporation, SAFARI GAMES Co., Lt… (Dimps Corporation, SAFARI GAMES Co., Ltd.)
FREEDOM WARS Remastered $39.99 1,211 69% 36k $1.5M (exactly $1,452,837) Dimps Corporation
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage $19.99 1,897 71% 57k $1.1M (exactly $1,137,631) RGG Studio
Beastieball · EA $24.99 1,483 97% 44k $1.1M (exactly $1,111,805) Wishes Ultd.
Tales of Graces f Remastered $39.99 773 87% 23k $927k (exactly $927,368) TOSE CO., LTD.
CAPTAIN TSUBASA 2: WORLD FIGHTERS $59.99 330 50% 9.9k $594k (exactly $593,901) TAMSOFT CORPORATION
Valkyrie of Phantasm $29.99 556 86% 17k $500k (exactly $500,233) AREAZERO
DOKAPON! Sword of Fury $24.99 354 85% 11k $265k (exactly $265,394) Sting
Botworld Odyssey $25.00 279 76% 8.4k $209k (exactly $209,250) Featherweight Games
Portal Fantasy $14.99 210 62% 6.3k $94k (exactly $94,437) Portal Fantasy

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