Do I ship it?

Games › RPG › RPG + Runner

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Runner RPG?

RPG + Runner

Of 53 developers who shipped a Runner 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.. 64 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 29 developers shipped in the last year and 64 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 64 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RPG + Runner
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 53
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.5k → $179 → $150 → $538 → $150 → $178 → $90 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RPG + Runner: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 53
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $179 (exactly $179)
Top 25% $538 (exactly $538)
Top 5% $24k (exactly $23,900)
Developers, 2 yr 53
Released games 155
Announced 64
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $1.99

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 35% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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.

RPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Runner
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
RPG, Runner; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation, Exploration
Price point
$1.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $1.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 1,339 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $180, 1 in 4 over $530, 1 in 20 over $23k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 64 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds169 devs · median $54k · 144 announced
  2. + IdlerFair357 devs · median $2.2k · 471 announced
  3. + Boss RushFair20 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  4. + SportsFair113 devs · median $1.5k · 124 announced
  5. + Combat RacingFair22 devs · median $629 · 28 announced
  6. + Split ScreenFair28 devs · median $450 · 31 announced
  7. + Precision PlatformerFair41 devs · median $449 · 43 announced
  8. + SamuraiPoor odds14 devs · median $261k · 14 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds76 devs · median $96k · 165 announced
  10. + 4XPoor odds26 devs · median $54k · 56 announced
  11. + MinigamesPoor odds19 devs · median $40k · 34 announced
  12. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds15 devs · median $28k · 19 announced

All 262 pairs on the RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Super Dark Deception 2024 · $356k Island Notes 2025 · $344k StrikeForce Kitty 2018 · $300k Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World 2021 · $86k Jelly Bubble 2026 · $51k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Super Dark Deception older $17.99 660 65% 20k $356k (exactly $356,202) Glowstick Entertainment
Island Notes $12.99 884 82% 27k $344k (exactly $344,495) KangBaoGame
StrikeForce Kitty older $9.99 1,002 89% 30k $300k (exactly $300,299) Creepy Brothers
Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World older $19.99 144 79% 4.3k $86k (exactly $86,357) G CHOICE, Monkey Craft
Jelly Bubble $9.99 170 99% 5.1k $51k (exactly $50,949) BINGOBELL
In a search of a new home older $24.99 36 55% 1.1k $27k (exactly $26,989) Gamesforgames
网瘾少年2005 Internet addicted youth 2005 older $1.99 426 96% 13k $25k (exactly $25,432) KayKay工作室
Progress Racer RPG $5.99 133 94% 4.0k $24k (exactly $23,900) Cameron Ladjevardi, David Elliot
Doodle Adventure of Chameleon older $8.99 58 94% 1.7k $16k (exactly $15,643) Cube of Cube
Adventures with Alan Parkour 3D older $39.99 13 92% 390 $16k (exactly $15,596) Gamesforgames
Only Out $4.99 40 95% 1.2k $6.0k (exactly $5,988) Shark Studio
Misty Onsen $5.99 32 56% 960 $5.8k (exactly $5,750) 神 SHEN
Sales, Science & Spirits $5.99 12 100% 360 $2.2k (exactly $2,156) Ufo Pizza Productions, Zero Point Games
Only Straight and Up! $19.99 3 33% 90 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) AF Games
MEMOLOGY: ESCAPE OF MEMES $0.99 35 91% 1.1k $1.0k (exactly $1,040) Gamesforfarm, Piece Of Voxel
Treasure Hunter: Echo of War $9.99 3 66% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Ulab Games
Барабан: Майстер-торгаш $0.99 27 77% 810 $802 (exactly $802) Brenntkopf Development

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