I always wondered why games like that are not mainstream, because right off the bat I can't name any game where the camera is looking down on the character. Fighter games are either done in “2D view” (like in Mortal Kombat or Tekken) or it's done in first or third-person view (Skyrim, DmC).

The exceptions are RPGs (like Pillars of Eternity), but those games aren't really action RPGs, they're more niche with their own systems.

Other exception is of course Hades, possibly the only game that became mainstream with his combat style. ? Am I wrong on this observation or is there merit to this? Thanks. ?

First reason why that comes up in my mind is money. Apparently you make more money by not doing more ARPGs.

Note that what you like and spend money on is very likely not what “everybody” likes and spends money on.

@Alberth Thanks for the answer! ? In your honest opinion, would you say there is a (reasonably sized) target audience for such games? Would it worth it financially to pursue development in such a game or not?

I know it's a difficult question to answer, but I'm wondering if:

• it's enjoyable for at least a niche audience that likes these types of fighting games
• and the market for it is not oversaturated

why aren't there more of them on the market? It should be a no-brainer! There must be a reason why it's not financially viable.

Cause people are too risk-focused. For example, AAA (nearly) only makes FPS because everyone else makes them and they surely must know why (yeah also because the others make them). So they get a known small slice of the cake everyone competes for, but forego getting the big slice of the cake with less predictable size.

I know ARPG can get a pretty decent audience, though.

Phantonix said:
In your honest opinion, would you say there is a (reasonably sized) target audience for such games? Would it worth it financially to pursue development in such a game or not?

Sorry, don't know such things. I am in the business of writing code, not in selling code ?

@Alberth I see, maybe I should just figure it out myself. ? Thanks anyway.

the first step of every business is market research

not doing it before you start coding something, is a paved road to unemployment

@Geri Nice to see a fellow Hungarian. :D I haven't used Google Trends before, but I see that's beneficial for comparing the gaming market.

yes, of course there are more sophisticated methods which should be also used, like monitoring and comparing the activity of various communities, analyzing the number of responses and so on. but usually even a simple google trends search is very talkative.

Well, there is more than one explanation for such a trend. You have to be careful about how you interpret such. For example, if there are not enough games of a genre people want to play they can not and therefore need not google for guides.

Also, there is more than one market. Just cause everyone plays Gacha games on their phone does not mean people on PC want such. Not everyone needs to focus on the overcrowded mobile market.