Games › RPG › RPG + Metroidvania
Should I ship a Metroidvania RPG?
RPG + Metroidvania
Of 144 developers who shipped a Metroidvania 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.. 401 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.7k, ×9.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $730k, ×1172 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 401 games are announced against 95 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.7k (exactly $5,664) |
| Top 25% | $52k (exactly $52,174) |
| Top 5% | $736k (exactly $736,220) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 144 |
| Released games | 502 |
| Announced | 401 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $10.24 |
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 40% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
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
- 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
- RPG, Metroidvania; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action RPG, Adventure
- Price point
- $10.24 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $10.24.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 36,375 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 7 in 10 of the 61 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 401 games are announced against 95 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + IdlerFair
- + Boss RushFair
- + SportsFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
- + MinigamesPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
Comparable games
STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order™ 2019 · $184M 
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night 2019 · $35M 
Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition 2012 · $34M 
ASTLIBRA Revision 2022 · $23M 
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove 2014 · $17M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order™ | older | $39.99 | 153,782 88% | 4.6M | $184M (exactly $184,492,265) | Respawn Entertainment |
| | Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | older | $39.99 | 29,588 93% | 888k | $35M (exactly $35,496,724) | ArtPlay |
| | Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition | older | $19.99 | 55,935 95% | 1.7M | $34M (exactly $33,544,219) | Rocksteady Studios |
| | ASTLIBRA Revision | older | $24.99 | 30,262 95% | 908k | $23M (exactly $22,687,421) | KEIZO |
| | Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove | older | $39.99 | 14,211 95% | 426k | $17M (exactly $17,048,937) | Yacht Club Games |
 | Darksiders III | older | $39.99 | 12,519 75% | 376k | $15M (exactly $15,019,044) | Gunfire Games |
 | TUNIC | older | $29.99 | 16,692 91% | 501k | $15M (exactly $15,017,792) | TUNIC Team |
 | Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition | older | $29.99 | 16,313 78% | 489k | $15M (exactly $14,676,806) | Gunfire Games, Vigil Games, THQ Nordic |
 | ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist | $24.99 | 17,143 95% | 514k | $13M (exactly $12,852,107) | Adglobe, Live Wire | |
 | Death's Door | older | $19.99 | 19,330 93% | 580k | $12M (exactly $11,592,201) | Acid Nerve |
 | Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree | $39.99 | 3,026 75% | 91k | $3.6M (exactly $3,630,292) | Primal Game Studio | |
 | System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster | $29.99 | 1,803 87% | 54k | $1.6M (exactly $1,622,159) | Nightdive Studios, Looking Glass Studio… (Nightdive Studios, Looking Glass Studios, Irrational Games) | |
 | SiNiSistar 2 | $14.99 | 3,545 90% | 106k | $1.6M (exactly $1,594,186) | Uu | |
 | GRIME II | $27.99 | 1,892 86% | 57k | $1.6M (exactly $1,588,712) | Clover Bite | |
 | Kotama and Academy Citadel | $19.99 | 2,542 80% | 76k | $1.5M (exactly $1,524,437) | Atomstring Games | |
 | Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter | $24.99 | 1,851 79% | 56k | $1.4M (exactly $1,387,695) | Odd Bug Studio | |
 | Journey of Realm：Dawn Dew | $10.99 | 2,233 97% | 67k | $736k (exactly $736,220) | 葱色兔兔/Scallion Rabbit | |
 | Verho - Curse of Faces | $19.99 | 1,219 91% | 37k | $731k (exactly $731,034) | Kasur Games | |
 | AWAKEN - Astral Blade | $19.99 | 1,121 82% | 34k | $672k (exactly $672,264) | Dark Pigeon Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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