Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Class-Based

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Class-Based game?

Class-Based

Of 468 developers who shipped a Class-Based 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.. 1,093 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×1.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $800k, ×541 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 1,093 games are announced against 293 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 1,093 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Class-Based
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 468
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.2k → $4.2k → $1.8k → $2.9k → $2.9k → $2.6k → $1.7k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Class-Based: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 468
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,679)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $14,222)
Top 5% $810k (exactly $809,676)
Developers, 2 yr 468
Released games 1,206
Announced 1,093
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 10% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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.

Class-Based
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
Class-Based
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 170,786 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $800k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 220 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,093 games are announced against 293 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Class-Based

112 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Class-Based + Score Attack Poor odds $358 38 devs
  2. Class-Based + Futuristic Poor odds $299 22 devs
  3. Class-Based + Historical Dead $240k 7 devs
  4. Hero Shooter + Class-Based Dead $132k 7 devs
  5. Class-Based + Turn-Based Dead $7.8k 12 devs
  6. Class-Based + Roguelike Deckbuilder Dead $7.3k 14 devs
  7. Class-Based + Beat 'em up Dead $2.5k 8 devs
  8. Class-Based + Robots Dead $1.7k 6 devs
  9. Class-Based + 4 Player Local Dead $449 9 devs
  10. Class-Based + Top-Down Shooter Dead $360 21 devs
  11. Class-Based + Logic Dead $300 13 devs
  12. Class-Based + 2D Fighter Dead $90 13 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Baldur's Gate 3 2023 · $1.4B Deep Rock Galactic 2020 · $273M Warhammer 40,000: Darktide 2022 · $130M The Elder Scrolls® Online 2017 · $81M WARDOGS 2026 · EA · $70M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Baldur's Gate 3 older $59.99 755,010 96% 23M $1.4B (exactly $1,358,791,497) Larian Studios
Deep Rock Galactic older $29.99 303,142 97% 9.1M $273M (exactly $272,736,857) Ghost Ship Games
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide older $39.99 108,477 72% 3.3M $130M (exactly $130,139,857) Fatshark
The Elder Scrolls® Online older $19.99 134,421 82% 4.0M $81M (exactly $80,612,274) ZeniMax Online Studios
WARDOGS · EA $39.99 58,250 81% 1.7M $70M (exactly $69,882,525) BULKHEAD
BattleBit Remastered · EA older $14.99 127,680 82% 3.8M $57M (exactly $57,417,696) SgtOkiDoki, Vilaskis, TheLiquidHorse
Marathon $39.99 44,919 81% 1.3M $54M (exactly $53,889,324) Bungie
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare older $24.99 44,486 83% 1.3M $33M (exactly $33,351,154) Torn Banner Studios
Starship Troopers: Extermination $29.99 29,724 80% 892k $27M (exactly $26,742,683) Offworld
Killing Floor older $19.99 39,850 95% 1.2M $24M (exactly $23,898,045) Tripwire Interactive
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS - The Ivalice Chronicles $49.99 5,673 89% 170k $8.5M (exactly $8,507,798) Square Enix
Onward $24.99 8,621 69% 259k $6.5M (exactly $6,463,164) Downpour Interactive
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven $49.99 3,921 93% 118k $5.9M (exactly $5,880,324) Square Enix, xeen Inc.
The Slormancer $19.99 6,926 81% 208k $4.2M (exactly $4,153,522) Slormite Studios
Gallipoli $29.99 4,015 78% 120k $3.6M (exactly $3,612,296) BlackMill Games
Solasta II · EA $39.99 2,931 75% 88k $3.5M (exactly $3,516,321) Tactical Adventures
Heroes of Hammerwatch II $19.99 5,806 82% 174k $3.5M (exactly $3,481,858) Crackshell

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