Do I ship it?

Games › PvP › PvP + Party-Based RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvP Party-Based RPG?

PvP + Party-Based RPG

Of 39 developers who shipped a paid PvP Party-Based 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.. 4 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 101 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×0.8 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $920k, ×619 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 101 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 101 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvP + Party-Based RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 39
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.7k → $31k → $3.6k → $26k → $1.5k → $4.5k → $538 (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvP + Party-Based RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 39
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $36k (exactly $36,149)
Top 5% $927k (exactly $927,368)
Developers, 2 yr 39
Released games 149
Announced 101
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 45% on the market, supply 155% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 42%, 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.

PvP
effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
Party-Based 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
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
PvP, Party-Based RPG; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 23,001 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $36k, 1 in 20 over $920k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 5 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 101 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + BaseballFair6 devs · median $7.6k · 9 announced
  2. + TransportationFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + BasketballFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  4. + Football (American)Fair17 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  5. + BikesFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  6. + GolfFair29 devs · median $1.4k · 34 announced
  7. + World War IFair12 devs · median $1.3k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair36 devs · median $1.2k · 48 announced
  9. + BilliardsFair18 devs · median $1.1k · 12 announced
  10. + TennisLong shot17 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  11. + TypingLong shot28 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  12. + SpellingLong shot14 devs · median $719 · 17 announced

All 247 pairs on the PvP page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition 2017 · $244M Fellowship 2025 · EA · $12M For The King II 2023 · $9.5M Gordian Quest 2022 · $3.2M Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies 2024 · $1.9M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition older $44.99 180,782 95% 5.4M $244M (exactly $244,001,465) Larian Studios
Fellowship · EA $24.99 15,357 74% 461k $12M (exactly $11,513,143) Chief Rebel
For The King II older $24.99 12,708 71% 381k $9.5M (exactly $9,527,188) IronOak Games
Gordian Quest older $19.99 5,259 88% 158k $3.2M (exactly $3,153,822) Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holding… (Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holdings Pte Ltd)
Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies older $7.99 7,792 91% 234k $1.9M (exactly $1,867,742) Striped Panda Studios
Legend of Mana older $29.99 1,132 78% 34k $1.0M (exactly $1,018,460) Square Enix, M2 Co., Ltd.
Tales of Graces f Remastered $39.99 773 87% 23k $927k (exactly $927,368) TOSE CO., LTD.
Feign $4.99 5,270 91% 158k $789k (exactly $788,919) Teneke Kafalar
Botworld Odyssey $25.00 279 76% 8.4k $209k (exactly $209,250) Featherweight Games
Kukoro: Stream chat games older $4.99 913 97% 27k $137k (exactly $136,676) HeyNau
NEODUEL: Backpack Monsters $11.99 357 79% 11k $128k (exactly $128,413) dicehit, Rogue Duck Interactive
Glorious Companions $19.99 182 61% 5.5k $109k (exactly $109,145) Ancient Forge
Water Margin Scrolls $9.99 244 40% 7.3k $73k (exactly $73,127) QingHe Games
Adventure Land - The Code MMORPG $14.99 144 84% 4.3k $65k (exactly $64,757) Wizard
Skygard Arena $14.99 93 77% 2.8k $42k (exactly $41,822) Gemelli Games
SCRIBBLE HUNT $3.99 302 81% 9.1k $36k (exactly $36,149) SCRIBBLE BUNNY

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