Games › Strategy RPG › Strategy RPG + Noir
Should I ship a Noir Strategy RPG?
Strategy RPG + Noir
Only 17 developers shipped a Noir Strategy RPG 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, Aether & Iron, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 28 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×4.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $390k, ×622 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 28 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $15,095) |
| Top 5% | $391k (exactly $390,594) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 35 |
| Announced | 28 |
| 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 down 55% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 3%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Strategy RPG
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Noir
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy RPG; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Card Battler
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 1,170 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy RPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SportsFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + EconomyFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + ConspiracyFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
Comparable games
Empire of Sin 2020 · $5.5M 
The Lamplighters League 2023 · $1.1M 
The Shrouded Isle 2017 · $454k 
Aether & Iron 2026 · $391k 
Vigilantes 2018 · $124k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Empire of Sin | older | $39.99 | 4,544 49% | 136k | $5.5M (exactly $5,451,437) | Romero Games |
| | The Lamplighters League | older | $49.99 | 726 71% | 22k | $1.1M (exactly $1,088,782) | Harebrained Schemes |
| | The Shrouded Isle | older | $12.99 | 1,166 71% | 35k | $454k (exactly $454,390) | Jongwoo Kim, Erica Lahaie, FX Bilodeau,… (Jongwoo Kim, Erica Lahaie, FX Bilodeau, Tanya Short) |
| | Aether & Iron | $24.99 | 521 84% | 16k | $391k (exactly $390,594) | Seismic Squirrel, Chaos Theory Games | |
| | Vigilantes | older | $14.99 | 276 80% | 8.3k | $124k (exactly $124,117) | Timeslip Softworks |
 | Exorcism Agency | $12.99 | 222 91% | 6.7k | $87k (exactly $86,513) | YINGGUO GAME | |
 | HeistGeist | $19.90 | 116 95% | 3.5k | $69k (exactly $69,252) | Doublequote Studio | |
 | Moves Of The Diamond Hand | · EA | $19.99 | 105 100% | 3.2k | $63k (exactly $62,968) | Cosmo D Studios |
 | Pixel Noir | older | $24.99 | 70 72% | 2.1k | $52k (exactly $52,479) | SWDTech Games |
 | Cyber Ops | older | $14.99 | 108 42% | 3.2k | $49k (exactly $48,568) | Octeto Studios |
 | Dark Bone Prison | $5.99 | 84 95% | 2.5k | $15k (exactly $15,095) | Bunny Moon Shady | |
 | Ambitious Road | $17.99 | 26 88% | 780 | $14k (exactly $14,032) | 黒木道仁 | |
 | DarkRanger | $6.99 | 51 66% | 1.5k | $11k (exactly $10,695) | 铅笔龙, 偶尔不帅 | |
 | Augmented Empire | $7.99 | 25 88% | 750 | $6.0k (exactly $5,992) | Coatsink | |
 | 蚀界档案 | $9.99 | 10 80% | 300 | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) | 深圳市创源互娱科技有限公司 | |
 | HeroInc | · EA | $8.99 | 10 90% | 300 | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) | Nue Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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