Do I ship it?

GamesRPGRPG + Level Editor

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Level Editor RPG?

RPG + Level Editor

Of 45 developers who shipped a Level Editor RPG 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.. 81 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $440k, ×713 the market median. Revenue is up 760% on the market; 81 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 760% on the market, 81 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RPG + Level Editor
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 45
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.3k → $19k → $1.2k → $1.8k → $449 → $3.1k → $4.4k (still earning) → $2.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RPG + Level Editor: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 45
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,307)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $28,059)
Top 5% $448k (exactly $447,752)
Developers, 2 yr 45
Released games 150
Announced 81
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.95

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 760% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

RPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Level Editor
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
RPG, Level Editor; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, Exploration
Price point
$9.95 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.95.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 11,486 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $28k, 1 in 20 over $440k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds169 devs · median $54k · 144 announced
  2. + IdlerFair357 devs · median $2.2k · 471 announced
  3. + Boss RushFair20 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  4. + SportsFair113 devs · median $1.5k · 124 announced
  5. + Combat RacingFair22 devs · median $629 · 28 announced
  6. + Split ScreenFair28 devs · median $450 · 31 announced
  7. + Precision PlatformerFair41 devs · median $449 · 43 announced
  8. + SamuraiPoor odds14 devs · median $261k · 14 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds76 devs · median $96k · 165 announced
  10. + 4XPoor odds26 devs · median $54k · 56 announced
  11. + MinigamesPoor odds19 devs · median $40k · 34 announced
  12. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds15 devs · median $28k · 19 announced

All 262 pairs on the RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Solasta: Crown of the Magister older $29.99 19,680 87% 590k $18M (exactly $17,706,096) Tactical Adventures
Titan Quest Anniversary Edition older $19.99 25,876 91% 776k $16M (exactly $15,517,837) Iron Lore Entertainment, THQ Nordic
SPORE™ Galactic Adventures older $19.99 7,249 89% 217k $4.3M (exactly $4,347,225) EA - Maxis
Rift of the NecroDancer $19.99 5,844 93% 175k $3.5M (exactly $3,504,647) Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios I… (Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios Inc.)
Everhood older $9.99 11,436 95% 343k $3.4M (exactly $3,427,369) Chris Nordgren, Jordi Roca
TaleSpire · EA older $24.99 4,391 89% 132k $3.3M (exactly $3,291,933) Bouncyrock Entertainment
Hero's Hour older $17.99 4,643 79% 139k $2.5M (exactly $2,505,827) Benjamin "ThingOnItsOwn" Hauer
Legend of Grimrock 2 older $23.99 3,065 90% 92k $2.2M (exactly $2,205,880) Almost Human Games
Legend of Grimrock older $14.99 4,844 93% 145k $2.2M (exactly $2,178,347) Almost Human Games
Everhood 2 $19.99 2,207 74% 66k $1.3M (exactly $1,323,538) Chris Nordgren, Jordi Roca
WindStop Strategy $9.99 1,494 78% 45k $448k (exactly $447,752) Xia Start
Witch's Apocalyptic Journey $8.99 1,282 84% 38k $346k (exactly $345,755) MeowAlive
Dark Quest 4 $19.99 136 75% 4.1k $82k (exactly $81,559) Brain Seal Ltd
Together in Battle $19.99 134 90% 4.0k $80k (exactly $80,360) Sinister Design
Jelly Bubble $9.99 170 99% 5.1k $51k (exactly $50,949) BINGOBELL
Voxile · EA $17.99 78 69% 2.3k $42k (exactly $42,097) VoxRay Games, Inc.
Word Game World $11.99 114 62% 3.4k $41k (exactly $41,006) Team9
Master of Realms · EA $39.99 27 81% 810 $32k (exactly $32,392) TheMasterForge LLC

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