Do I ship it?

GamesMMORPGMMORPG + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic MMORPG?

MMORPG + Magic

Only 11 developers shipped a paid Magic MMORPG 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, Pax Dei, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 7 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 109 more are announced, ×16 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $110k, ×82 the market's $1.3k for a 10 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $25k; 1 in 20 cleared $6.4M, ×4784 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 109 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 82.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 109 announced, ×16 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
MMORPG + Magic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $67k → $25k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for MMORPG + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $25k (exactly $24,689)
Median $111k (exactly $110,589)
Top 25% $3.6M (exactly $3,618,278)
Top 5% $6.4M (exactly $6,444,551)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 112
Announced 109
Effort 10 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 40% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 69%, 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.

MMORPG
effort 10 / 10 · low · persistent world servers and a live economy
Magic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
10 / 10 · studio only
Systems
MMORPG
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 58% positive over 25,365 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $25k, median $110k, 1 in 4 over $3.6M, 1 in 20 over $6.4M.

3 in 10 developers made under $25k. 4 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 109 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×16 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

MMORPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LootPoor odds8 devs · median $253k · 57 announced
  2. + TradingPoor odds6 devs · median $206k · 42 announced
  3. + SandboxPoor odds15 devs · median $144k · 107 announced
  4. + Dungeon CrawlerPoor odds10 devs · median $144k · 80 announced
  5. + CraftingPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  6. + Online Co-OpPoor odds15 devs · median $65k · 130 announced
  7. + FantasyPoor odds27 devs · median $61k · 232 announced
  8. + Class-BasedPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  9. + Open WorldPoor odds33 devs · median $52k · 252 announced
  10. + Character CustomizationPoor odds28 devs · median $52k · 217 announced
  11. + ExplorationPoor odds24 devs · median $52k · 213 announced
  12. + Co-opPoor odds14 devs · median $30k · 95 announced

All 71 pairs on the MMORPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Last Epoch older $34.99 106,364 76% 3.2M $112M (exactly $111,650,291) Eleventh Hour Games
The Elder Scrolls® Online older $19.99 134,421 82% 4.0M $81M (exactly $80,612,274) ZeniMax Online Studios
FINAL FANTASY XIV Online older $19.99 78,661 86% 2.4M $47M (exactly $47,173,002) Square Enix
Black Desert older $9.99 63,052 75% 1.9M $19M (exactly $18,896,684) Pearl Abyss
Mortal Online 2 older $39.99 11,103 59% 333k $13M (exactly $13,320,269) Star Vault AB
Pax Dei $29.99 7,163 56% 215k $6.4M (exactly $6,444,551) Mainframe Industries
Dark and Light · EA older $17.99 10,577 51% 317k $5.7M (exactly $5,708,407) Snail Games USA
SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream $59.99 2,021 64% 61k $3.6M (exactly $3,637,194) Dimps Corporation
The Quinfall $9.99 12,073 50% 362k $3.6M (exactly $3,618,278) Vawraek Technology Inc.
Citadel: Forged with Fire older $14.99 5,004 67% 150k $2.3M (exactly $2,250,299) Blue Isle Studios
Guild Wars® Reforged $19.99 3,265 87% 98k $2.0M (exactly $1,958,020) ArenaNet®
Embers Adrift $19.99 240 69% 7.2k $144k (exactly $143,928) Stormhaven Studios
Camelot Unchained · EA $9.99 369 38% 11k $111k (exactly $110,589) Unchained Entertainment
Gnome Online $17.99 124 73% 3.7k $67k (exactly $66,923) H-Production
The Story Page · EA $7.99 103 78% 3.1k $25k (exactly $24,689) SPR-Games
Swordia $4.99 5 40% 150 $748 (exactly $748) Affliction Networks LLC
Mythic Manager · EA $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Oracle Algorithms

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