Do I ship it?

Games › Party-Based RPG › Party-Based RPG + Survival

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Party-Based RPG Survival game?

Party-Based RPG + Survival

Of 44 developers who shipped a Party-Based RPG Survival game 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.. 73 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $8.9k, ×14 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $780k, ×1256 the market median. Revenue is up 400% on the market; 73 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 14.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 400% on the market, 73 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Party-Based RPG + Survival
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 44
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $192k → $2.1k → $1.5k → $1.2k → $10k → $4.0k → $42k (still earning) → $685k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Party-Based RPG + Survival: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 44
Bottom 30% $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Median $8.9k (exactly $8,869)
Top 25% $121k (exactly $120,520)
Top 5% $789k (exactly $788,919)
Developers, 2 yr 44
Released games 93
Announced 73
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 400% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Party-Based RPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Survival
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Party-Based RPG, Survival; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RPG, Strategy RPG
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 12,269 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $8.9k, 1 in 4 over $120k, 1 in 20 over $780k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 8 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Party-Based RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Board GameFair24 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  2. + Point & ClickFair17 devs · median $2.5k · 20 announced
  3. + 2D PlatformerFair55 devs · median $599 · 42 announced
  4. + Hidden ObjectFair15 devs · median $479 · 16 announced
  5. + Martial ArtsPoor odds5 devs · median $230k · 16 announced
  6. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $49k · 25 announced
  7. + SandboxPoor odds23 devs · median $34k · 71 announced
  8. + BuildingPoor odds12 devs · median $32k · 37 announced
  9. + AutomationPoor odds14 devs · median $21k · 28 announced
  10. + Turn-BasedPoor odds67 devs · median $19k · 76 announced
  11. + Base BuildingPoor odds19 devs · median $19k · 51 announced
  12. + IncrementalPoor odds18 devs · median $15k · 45 announced

All 111 pairs on the Party-Based RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Kenshi 2018 · $89M Wartales 2023 · $34M Town of Salem 2014 · $4.6M Dead Age 2016 · $2.0M The Last Flame 2025 · $1.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Kenshi older $29.99 98,451 95% 3.0M $89M (exactly $88,576,365) Lo-Fi Games
Wartales older $34.99 32,118 86% 964k $34M (exactly $33,714,265) Shiro Games
Town of Salem older $4.99 30,882 88% 926k $4.6M (exactly $4,623,035) BlankMediaGames
Dead Age older $14.99 4,407 83% 132k $2.0M (exactly $1,981,828) Silent Dreams
The Last Flame $19.99 2,744 85% 82k $1.6M (exactly $1,645,577) Hotloop
Dungeon Settlers · EA $24.99 1,117 79% 34k $837k (exactly $837,415) CanOpener
Feign $4.99 5,270 91% 158k $789k (exactly $788,919) Teneke Kafalar
Urban Strife $34.99 653 69% 20k $685k (exactly $685,454) White Pond Games
Dead Age 2: The Zombie Survival RPG older $17.99 1,154 75% 35k $623k (exactly $622,814) Silent Dreams
Valorborn · EA $24.99 492 60% 15k $369k (exactly $368,852) Laps Games
NITRO GEN OMEGA $29.99 398 83% 12k $358k (exactly $358,081) DESTINYbit
Sandwalkers $19.99 490 73% 15k $294k (exactly $293,853) Goblinz Studio
Escape The Mad Empire · EA $17.99 406 88% 12k $219k (exactly $219,118) XperimentalZ Games
Pebble Knights · EA $9.99 479 76% 14k $144k (exactly $143,556) 51% Games
MEMOLITH: Forsaken by Light $19.99 220 76% 6.6k $132k (exactly $131,934) Black Anchor

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