Do I ship it?

Games › MOBA › MOBA + RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an RPG MOBA?

MOBA + RPG

Of 23 developers who shipped a paid RPG 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. 73 more are announced, ×7.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 9 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180, ×0.1 the market's $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 73 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.3 per shipper, while revenue is up 800% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 800% on the market, 73 announced, ×7.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
MOBA + RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $1.6k → $2.4k → $598 → $120 → $31k → $2.4k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for MOBA + RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $180 (exactly $180)
Top 25% $7.3k (exactly $7,335)
Top 5% $100k (exactly $99,697)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 144
Announced 73
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 800% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 52%, 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
RPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
MOBA, RPG; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Online Co-Op
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 3D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 16,636 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 $180, 1 in 4 over $7.3k, 1 in 20 over $99k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 7 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.3 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. + Hero ShooterDead5 devs · median $49k · 24 announced
  11. + SurvivalDead6 devs · median $31k · 22 announced
  12. + Battle RoyaleDead4 devs · median $16k · 30 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 Shape of Dreams 2025 · $12M BLACK CLOVER: QUARTET KNIGHTS 2018 · $1.2M WARSHIFT 2016 · $193k
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.
Shape of Dreams $24.99 15,769 89% 473k $12M (exactly $11,822,019) Lizard Smoothie
BLACK CLOVER: QUARTET KNIGHTS older $49.99 832 75% 25k $1.2M (exactly $1,247,750) ILINX, Inc.
WARSHIFT older $9.99 643 71% 19k $193k (exactly $192,707) Cyril Megem
AirMech Wastelands older $14.99 278 69% 8.3k $125k (exactly $125,017) Carbon Games
Pennon and Battle $18.99 175 69% 5.3k $100k (exactly $99,697) PB Studio
Jelly Bubble $9.99 170 99% 5.1k $51k (exactly $50,949) BINGOBELL
Egress older $14.99 107 58% 3.2k $48k (exactly $48,118) Fazan
The AC130 slays the zombies. $3.99 377 63% 11k $45k (exactly $45,127) 汪双羽
Girl Frame $14.99 69 68% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,029) Meow Run, Cat Shine
NeverCOM · EA $4.99 49 95% 1.5k $7.3k (exactly $7,335) Shenzhen Huajian Network Technology Co.… (Shenzhen Huajian Network Technology Co., Ltd)
Enemy Inside · EA $12.99 10 100% 300 $3.9k (exactly $3,897) Six Ways Games
Adversator $8.99 9 88% 270 $2.4k (exactly $2,427) Paradoks
ShadowStrikeVR · EA $9.99 3 0% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Charming Game Studio
MOBA Dodge Trainer $3.99 5 100% 150 $598 (exactly $598) ZHOU JIANCHENG

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