Do I ship it?

Games › Loot › Loot + Strategy RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Loot Strategy RPG?

Loot + Strategy RPG

Of 88 developers who shipped a Loot Strategy 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.. 108 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $6.1k, ×9.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $820k, ×1311 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 108 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 108 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Loot + Strategy RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 88
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.4k → $2.1k → $37k → $17k → $9.6k → $21k → $6.1k (still earning) → $5.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Loot + Strategy RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 88
Bottom 30% $719 (exactly $719)
Median $6.1k (exactly $6,115)
Top 25% $52k (exactly $52,220)
Top 5% $824k (exactly $823,576)
Developers, 2 yr 88
Released games 177
Announced 108
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 40% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Loot
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Strategy RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Loot, Strategy RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RPG, Turn-Based Combat
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 22,266 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $6.1k, 1 in 4 over $52k, 1 in 20 over $820k.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 108 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds28 devs · median $19k · 22 announced
  2. + Local Co-OpStrong odds22 devs · median $7.3k · 21 announced
  3. + SteampunkStrong odds7 devs · median $2.2k · 10 announced
  4. + CapitalismFair36 devs · median $14k · 52 announced
  5. + Turn-Based StrategyFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  6. + JRPGFair34 devs · median $5.5k · 41 announced
  7. + EconomyFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  8. + IdlerFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  9. + CatsFair17 devs · median $3.4k · 24 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  11. + Creature CollectorFair51 devs · median $2.9k · 67 announced
  12. + CollectathonFair90 devs · median $1.9k · 95 announced

All 159 pairs on the Loot page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Jagged Alliance 3 2023 · $15M 龙胤立志传 2026 · $4.3M Inkbound 2024 · $3.2M Erenshor 2025 · EA · $1.3M Siralim Ultimate 2021 · $1.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Jagged Alliance 3 older $44.99 10,882 89% 326k $15M (exactly $14,687,435) Haemimont Games
龙胤立志传 $19.99 7,153 77% 215k $4.3M (exactly $4,289,654) TPP Studio
Inkbound older $29.99 3,592 86% 108k $3.2M (exactly $3,231,722) Shiny Shoe
Erenshor · EA $19.99 2,153 94% 65k $1.3M (exactly $1,291,154) Burgee Media
Siralim Ultimate older $19.99 2,145 92% 64k $1.3M (exactly $1,286,356) Thylacine Studios
再刷一把 PlayAgain older $8.99 4,416 67% 132k $1.2M (exactly $1,190,995) 滑稽工作室
Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot $14.99 2,588 82% 78k $1.2M (exactly $1,163,824) Hamma Studios
Megaloot older $9.99 3,808 71% 114k $1.1M (exactly $1,141,258) axilirate
Tales & Tactics older $17.99 1,737 80% 52k $937k (exactly $937,459) Table 9 Studio
Multiverse Loot Hunter $11.99 2,585 80% 78k $930k (exactly $929,824) 游戏养家工作室
再刷一把2：金色传说 $9.99 2,748 44% 82k $824k (exactly $823,576) 滑稽工作室
Lootbound $14.99 1,248 77% 37k $561k (exactly $561,226) ArtDock
Overlooting $9.99 1,405 81% 42k $421k (exactly $421,078) Posing Possums
Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising $9.99 1,160 77% 35k $348k (exactly $347,652) Small Mill, Small Mill
Sandwalkers $19.99 490 73% 15k $294k (exactly $293,853) Goblinz Studio
Fantasy Idle Dungeon $9.99 736 70% 22k $221k (exactly $220,579) Leaves Games

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