Do I ship it?

Games › MOBA › MOBA + PvP

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvP MOBA?

MOBA + PvP

Of 54 developers who shipped a paid PvP MOBA 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.. 5 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 185 more are announced, ×6.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 9 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build. 28 developers shipped in the last year and 185 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 185 announced, ×6.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
MOBA + PvP
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 54
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $479 → $1.8k → $59 → $449 → $238 → $150 → $2.4k (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for MOBA + PvP: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 54
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,697)
Top 5% $100k (exactly $99,697)
Developers, 2 yr 54
Released games 298
Announced 185
Effort 9 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 170% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 55%, 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.

MOBA
effort 9 / 10 · low · competitive netcode plus a balanced hero roster
PvP
effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
MOBA, PvP; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Shooter
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 67% positive over 5,939 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $360, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $99k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 52 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 185 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RoguelitePoor odds10 devs · median $3.9k · 15 announced
  2. + AdventurePoor odds12 devs · median $3.1k · 44 announced
  3. + Tower DefensePoor odds7 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  4. + FantasyPoor odds18 devs · median $2.7k · 85 announced
  5. + Character CustomizationPoor odds10 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  6. + Online Co-OpPoor odds19 devs · median $600 · 57 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds21 devs · median $479 · 53 announced
  8. + ActionPoor odds53 devs · median $359 · 170 announced
  9. + SimulationPoor odds12 devs · median $359 · 33 announced
  10. + RPGPoor odds23 devs · median $180 · 73 announced
  11. + Hero ShooterDead5 devs · median $49k · 24 announced
  12. + SurvivalDead6 devs · median $31k · 22 announced

All 50 pairs on the MOBA page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

FOR HONOR™ 2017 · $98M NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER 2023 · $26M Gigantic: Rampage Edition 2024 · $2.3M Wild Assault 2026 · $1.7M Bleeding Edge 2020 · $1.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
FOR HONOR™ older $29.99 108,492 69% 3.3M $98M (exactly $97,610,252) Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubiso… (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft Toronto, Blue Byte)
NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER older $19.99 42,572 84% 1.3M $26M (exactly $25,530,428) Soleil Ltd.
Gigantic: Rampage Edition older $19.99 3,795 65% 114k $2.3M (exactly $2,275,862) Abstraction Games
Wild Assault $14.99 3,861 68% 116k $1.7M (exactly $1,736,292) Combat Cat Studio
Bleeding Edge older $29.99 1,411 66% 42k $1.3M (exactly $1,269,477) Ninja Theory
Last Remains · EA $19.99 914 51% 27k $548k (exactly $548,126) Earn Alliance
MageQuit older $14.99 1,032 94% 31k $464k (exactly $464,090) Bowlcut Studios
Demigod older $9.99 1,011 75% 30k $303k (exactly $302,997) Gas Powered Games
Secret Ponchos older $14.99 613 73% 18k $276k (exactly $275,666) Switchblade Monkeys Entertainment
AXYOS older $4.99 1,629 52% 49k $244k (exactly $243,861) Axyos Games
Pennon and Battle $18.99 175 69% 5.3k $100k (exactly $99,697) PB Studio
Last Flag $4.99 576 73% 17k $86k (exactly $86,227) Night Street Games
Jelly Bubble $9.99 170 99% 5.1k $51k (exactly $50,949) BINGOBELL
STARVAULT VR $24.99 66 89% 2.0k $49k (exactly $49,480) Theia Games
Sanguo's Ambition 4 :Three Kingdoms $9.99 101 68% 3.0k $30k (exactly $30,270) Youshen Interactive
Source Code $19.99 33 60% 990 $20k (exactly $19,790) Blitzball.Inc
Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss $19.99 22 63% 660 $13k (exactly $13,193) Polyarc
Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights $19.99 21 61% 630 $13k (exactly $12,594) Gunpowder Games, Focuspoint Studios

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