Do I ship it?

GamesDungeon CrawlerDungeon Crawler + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + 2D Platformer

Of 102 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer Dungeon Crawler 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.. 138 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480, level with the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×317 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 138 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 138 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 102
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $748 → $2.2k → $718 → $2.4k → $1.0k → $748 → $449 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 102
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,405)
Top 5% $151k (exactly $150,650)
Developers, 2 yr 102
Released games 287
Announced 138
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 50% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Dungeon Crawler
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Dungeon Crawler, 2D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Action
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 6,217 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 $480, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 44 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 138 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Time ManagementFair35 devs · median $7.0k · 44 announced
  2. + GamblingFair16 devs · median $7.0k · 17 announced
  3. + DiceFair24 devs · median $5.1k · 32 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair29 devs · median $2.3k · 38 announced
  5. + Local Co-OpFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 60 announced
  6. + ZombiesFair65 devs · median $1.0k · 74 announced
  7. + Word GameFair12 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  8. + ThrillerFair45 devs · median $716 · 46 announced
  9. + Walking SimulatorFair59 devs · median $479 · 62 announced
  10. + Score AttackFair29 devs · median $479 · 33 announced
  11. + MMORPGPoor odds10 devs · median $144k · 80 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds8 devs · median $55k · 30 announced

All 175 pairs on the Dungeon Crawler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Noita older $19.99 81,149 95% 2.4M $49M (exactly $48,665,055) Nolla Games
Neon Abyss older $31.49 19,709 86% 591k $19M (exactly $18,619,092) Veewo Games
Frontier Hunter: Erza’s Wheel of Fortune older $24.99 1,914 82% 57k $1.4M (exactly $1,434,926) IceSitruuna
Hylics 2 older $14.99 3,158 96% 95k $1.4M (exactly $1,420,153) Mason Lindroth
Lucky Tower Ultimate $14.99 2,281 94% 68k $1.0M (exactly $1,025,766) Studio Seufz
Exit the Gungeon older $9.99 3,400 74% 102k $1.0M (exactly $1,018,980) Dodge Roll, Singlecore
Regions Of Ruin older $11.99 1,972 84% 59k $709k (exactly $709,328) Gameclaw Studio
Goblin Vyke: The Thief Tycoon $14.99 1,397 70% 42k $628k (exactly $628,231) Art Thieves
Astalon: Tears of the Earth older $19.99 995 92% 30k $597k (exactly $596,702) LABS Works
Portal Dungeon older $14.99 995 88% 30k $447k (exactly $447,452) Dusk Dog Studio
Dunjungle $14.99 692 96% 21k $311k (exactly $311,192) Bruno Bombardi
Soul's Chronicle: Immortal Slayer $14.99 441 77% 13k $198k (exactly $198,318) 正向星光工作室
Sakura Gozen $16.99 320 96% 9.6k $163k (exactly $163,104) kaniheadcrab
Planet Lust $14.99 335 76% 10k $151k (exactly $150,650) Skullgear
Cryptical Path $14.99 130 86% 3.9k $58k (exactly $58,461) Old Skull Games
PlatyGuard: Swarm Slayer $14.99 117 74% 3.5k $53k (exactly $52,615) ChillyRoom
巴哈姆特1-REMAKE(BAHAMUT1-REMAKE) $9.99 170 95% 5.1k $51k (exactly $50,949) 王韋
Tap Dungeon $4.99 334 81% 10k $50k (exactly $50,000) Xiao5 Studios

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