Should I ship a Romance JRPG?
JRPG + Romance
Of 153 developers who shipped a Romance 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.. 164 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $13k, ×21 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $2.7k. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 164 games are announced against 82 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.7k (exactly $2,698) |
|---|---|
| Median | $13k (exactly $12,887) |
| Top 25% | $47k (exactly $46,792) |
| Top 5% | $519k (exactly $519,380) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 153 |
| Released games | 497 |
| Announced | 164 |
| 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 35% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 6%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
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, Visual Novel, Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Story Rich, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 25,246 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.7k. 7 in 10 of the 90 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 164 games are announced against 82 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
JRPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Mystery DungeonStrong odds
- + NinjaFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + ManagementFair
- + Souls-likeFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LootFair
- + RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + Resource ManagementFair
Comparable games
Tales of ARISE 2023 · $41M 
FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster 2016 · $18M 
Sora no Kiseki the 1st 2025 · $9.4M 
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter 2025 · $8.4M 
FINAL FANTASY IX 2016 · $7.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Tales of ARISE | older | $49.99 | 27,643 86% | 829k | $41M (exactly $41,456,207) | Bandai Namco Studios Inc. |
| | FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster | older | $29.99 | 19,857 87% | 596k | $18M (exactly $17,865,343) | Square Enix |
| | Sora no Kiseki the 1st | $59.99 | 5,205 97% | 156k | $9.4M (exactly $9,367,438) | Nihon Falcom | |
| | Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter | $59.99 | 4,650 95% | 140k | $8.4M (exactly $8,368,605) | Nihon Falcom | |
| | FINAL FANTASY IX | older | $20.99 | 12,447 95% | 373k | $7.8M (exactly $7,837,876) | Square Enix |
 | Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga | older | $19.99 | 12,880 94% | 386k | $7.7M (exactly $7,724,136) | Dancing Dragon Games |
 | Valkyria Chronicles™ | older | $19.99 | 10,832 89% | 325k | $6.5M (exactly $6,495,950) | SEGA |
 | The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel | older | $39.99 | 5,131 94% | 154k | $6.2M (exactly $6,155,661) | Nihon Falcom |
 | Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven | $49.99 | 3,921 93% | 118k | $5.9M (exactly $5,880,324) | Square Enix, xeen Inc. | |
 | Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition | older | $49.99 | 3,794 80% | 114k | $5.7M (exactly $5,689,862) | QLOC, BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. |
 | Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma | $59.99 | 2,947 88% | 88k | $5.3M (exactly $5,303,716) | Marvelous Inc. | |
 | The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki -Farewell, O Zemuria- | $57.99 | 765 77% | 23k | $1.3M (exactly $1,330,870) | Nihon Falcom | |
 | 灾厄黑龙与谎言公主 | $9.99 | 3,682 90% | 110k | $1.1M (exactly $1,103,495) | 莓夜工作室 | |
 | LUNAR Remastered Collection | $49.99 | 576 91% | 17k | $864k (exactly $863,827) | ASHIBI Co., Ltd., GAME ARTS Co., Ltd. | |
 | Happy Island Fantasy | $14.99 | 1,186 88% | 36k | $533k (exactly $533,344) | HappyCreator | |
 | Ova Magica | $29.99 | 581 91% | 17k | $523k (exactly $522,726) | ClaudiaTheDev, Skinny Frog | |
 | Academy Love Saga: Tennis Angels EX | $9.99 | 1,733 85% | 52k | $519k (exactly $519,380) | Tora Creatives |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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