Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Action RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Action RPG?

Action RPG

Of 2,112 developers who shipped an Action 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.. 4,654 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.4k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×914 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 4,654 games are announced against 1,171 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 4,654 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 2,112
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.1k → $1.8k → $2.2k → $1.3k → $1.8k → $1.6k → $987 (still earning) → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 2,112
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $20,979)
Top 5% $1.4M (exactly $1,369,715)
Developers, 2 yr 2,112
Released games 6,586
Announced 4,654
Effort 7 / 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 30% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Action RPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Action RPG
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
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 80% positive over 1,157,341 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 1,207 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 4,654 games are announced against 1,171 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Action RPG

152 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. 3D Fighter + Action RPG Poor odds $809 78 devs
  2. Action RPG + Auto Battler Poor odds $748 19 devs
  3. Action RPG + Turn-Based Strategy Poor odds $719 51 devs
  4. Action RPG + Tower Defense Poor odds $719 40 devs
  5. Action RPG + Investigation Poor odds $719 33 devs
  6. Action RPG + Simulation Poor odds $693 193 devs
  7. Action RPG + Time Management Poor odds $693 20 devs
  8. Action RPG + Tactical Poor odds $659 83 devs
  9. Action RPG + Choose Your Own Adventure Poor odds $629 88 devs
  10. Action RPG + Shoot 'Em Up Poor odds $629 86 devs
  11. Action RPG + Arena Shooter Poor odds $629 64 devs
  12. Action RPG + Vehicular Combat Poor odds $628 19 devs
  13. Action RPG + Turn-Based Combat Poor odds $599 103 devs
  14. Action RPG + Mystery Dungeon Poor odds $599 72 devs
  15. Action RPG + Real Time Tactics Poor odds $599 63 devs
  16. Action RPG + RTS Poor odds $599 29 devs
  17. Action RPG + Hidden Object Poor odds $538 46 devs
  18. Action RPG + Strategy Poor odds $449 262 devs
  19. Action RPG + Physics Poor odds $449 65 devs
  20. Action RPG + Mining Poor odds $408 21 devs
  21. Action RPG + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $390 48 devs
  22. Action RPG + Agriculture Poor odds $360 11 devs
  23. Action RPG + Destruction Poor odds $359 22 devs
  24. Action RPG + Flight Poor odds $359 21 devs
  25. Action RPG + Sports Poor odds $327 21 devs
  26. Action RPG + Combat Racing Poor odds $298 13 devs
  27. Action RPG + Action RTS Poor odds $270 43 devs
  28. Action RPG + Space Sim Poor odds $179 15 devs
  29. Action RPG + 6DOF Poor odds $30 9 devs
  30. Action RPG + Asynchronous Multiplayer Dead $55k 8 devs
  31. Action RPG + Turn-Based Dead $8.7k 10 devs
  32. Action RPG + Real-Time Dead $6.7k 5 devs
  33. Action RPG + Automobile Sim Dead $1.1k 4 devs
  34. Action RPG + Level Editor Dead $599 8 devs
  35. Action RPG + 2D Platformer Dead $479 251 devs
  36. Action RPG + 3D Platformer Dead $419 158 devs
  37. Action RPG + Interactive Fiction Dead $419 44 devs
  38. Action RPG + Boomer Shooter Dead $419 19 devs
  39. Action RPG + Board Game Dead $419 6 devs
  40. Action RPG + Traditional Roguelike Dead $359 23 devs
  41. Action RPG + Tabletop Dead $359 5 devs
  42. Action RPG + Turn-Based Tactics Dead $300 66 devs
  43. Action RPG + Dynamic Narration Dead $300 22 devs
  44. Action RPG + Quick-Time Events Dead $300 15 devs
  45. Hero Shooter + Action RPG Dead $297 32 devs
  46. Action RPG + 2D Fighter Dead $239 53 devs
  47. Action RPG + Logic Dead $239 24 devs
  48. Action RPG + Runner Dead $238 24 devs
  49. MOBA + Action RPG Dead $180 5 devs
  50. Battle Royale + Action RPG Dead $148 18 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Cyberpunk 2077 2020 · $1.6B Black Myth: Wukong 2024 · $1.6B ELDEN RING 2022 · $1.5B The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition 2015 · $1.2B DARK SOULS™ III 2016 · $500M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cyberpunk 2077 older $59.99 883,400 87% 27M $1.6B (exactly $1,589,854,980) CD PROJEKT RED
Black Myth: Wukong older $59.99 881,186 96% 26M $1.6B (exactly $1,585,870,444) Game Science
ELDEN RING older $59.99 831,470 93% 25M $1.5B (exactly $1,496,396,559) FromSoftware, Inc.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition older $49.99 823,357 96% 25M $1.2B (exactly $1,234,788,493) CD PROJEKT RED
DARK SOULS™ III older $59.99 278,034 94% 8.3M $500M (exactly $500,377,790) FromSoftware, Inc.
Hogwarts Legacy older $59.99 274,801 89% 8.2M $495M (exactly $494,559,360) Avalanche Software
Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition older $59.99 164,914 79% 4.9M $297M (exactly $296,795,726) Techland
Monster Hunter: World older $29.99 317,068 89% 9.5M $285M (exactly $285,266,080) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Dying Light older $24.99 373,413 95% 11M $280M (exactly $279,947,726) Techland
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 $49.99 181,667 95% 5.5M $272M (exactly $272,446,000) Sandfall Interactive
Monster Hunter Wilds $39.99 200,984 52% 6.0M $241M (exactly $241,120,505) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN $39.99 129,476 83% 3.9M $155M (exactly $155,332,357) FromSoftware, Inc.
Path of Exile 2 · EA $29.99 167,730 76% 5.0M $151M (exactly $150,906,681) Grinding Gear Games
Borderlands 4 $69.99 57,874 59% 1.7M $122M (exactly $121,518,038) Gearbox Software
Stellar Blade™ $59.99 61,289 93% 1.8M $110M (exactly $110,301,813) SHIFT UP Corporation
Dying Light: The Beast $59.99 59,318 87% 1.8M $107M (exactly $106,754,605) Techland
Hades II $29.99 114,419 95% 3.4M $103M (exactly $102,942,774) Supergiant Games
DELTARUNE $24.99 124,894 98% 3.7M $94M (exactly $93,633,032) tobyfox
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered $49.99 59,690 76% 1.8M $90M (exactly $89,517,093) Bethesda Game Studios, Virtuos

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