Should I ship a Superhero RPG?
RPG + Superhero
Of 34 developers who shipped a Superhero 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.. 59 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 59 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper, while revenue is up 20% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $3.6k (exactly $3,593) |
| Top 5% | $2.4M (exactly $2,352,208) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 34 |
| Released games | 147 |
| Announced | 59 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 20% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- RPG; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Character Customization, Combat
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 34,987 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + IdlerFair
- + Boss RushFair
- + SportsFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
- + MinigamesPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy | older | $59.99 | 35,397 93% | 1.1M | $64M (exactly $63,703,981) | Eidos-Montréal |
| | Marvel's Spider-Man 2 | $59.99 | 33,433 83% | 1.0M | $60M (exactly $60,169,370) | Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software | |
| | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | older | $49.99 | 39,234 93% | 1.2M | $59M (exactly $58,839,230) | Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software |
| | Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition | older | $19.99 | 55,935 95% | 1.7M | $34M (exactly $33,544,219) | Rocksteady Studios |
| | Marvel's Midnight Suns | older | $59.99 | 17,060 82% | 512k | $31M (exactly $30,702,882) | Firaxis Games |
| | South Park™: The Fractured But Whole™ | older | $29.99 | 31,985 85% | 960k | $29M (exactly $28,776,904) | Ubisoft San Francisco |
| | Gotham Knights | older | $59.99 | 15,688 68% | 471k | $28M (exactly $28,233,694) | Warner Bros. Games Montréal, QLOC |
| | Batman™: Arkham Origins | older | $19.99 | 45,536 90% | 1.4M | $27M (exactly $27,307,939) | WB Games Montreal, Splash Damage |
| | Prototype 2 | older | $39.99 | 10,389 75% | 312k | $12M (exactly $12,463,683) | Radical Entertainment |
| | Prototype™ | older | $19.99 | 12,518 80% | 376k | $7.5M (exactly $7,507,045) | Radical Entertainment |
| | Lost Soul Aside™ | $59.99 | 1,307 59% | 39k | $2.4M (exactly $2,352,208) | Ultizero Games | |
| | Ship of Heroes | $29.99 | 91 27% | 2.7k | $82k (exactly $81,873) | Heroic Games Corporation | |
| | Kinky Cosplay Heroes | $19.99 | 35 77% | 1.1k | $21k (exactly $20,990) | Sexy Hentai Games Factory | |
| | Giggle Night: Trixie's Trial | · EA | $19.99 | 16 81% | 480 | $9.6k (exactly $9,595) | Anaximanes Entertainment |
| | Heroes of Tomorrow: Hidden Potential | $7.99 | 32 75% | 960 | $7.7k (exactly $7,670) | Choice of Games | |
| | Kebabstar 🌯⭐ | · EA | $14.99 | 14 78% | 420 | $6.3k (exactly $6,296) | Zeybek |
| | The Last Scion | $5.99 | 25 84% | 750 | $4.5k (exactly $4,492) | Choice of Games | |
| | Redneck Brawl Turbo | $12.99 | 10 90% | 300 | $3.9k (exactly $3,897) | Kolossus Games | |
| | DREADMARCH | $4.99 | 24 79% | 720 | $3.6k (exactly $3,593) | MM88 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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