Do I ship it?

Games › 4 Player Local › 4 Player Local + Dungeon Crawler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 4 Player Local Dungeon Crawler?

4 Player Local + Dungeon Crawler

Only 17 developers shipped a 4 Player Local Dungeon Crawler in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, DuneCrawl, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×717 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 24 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 24 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
4 Player Local + Dungeon Crawler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $116k → $95k → $1.4k → $3.6k → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 4 Player Local + Dungeon Crawler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,350)
Top 25% $7.0k (exactly $7,015)
Top 5% $341k (exactly $340,630)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 53
Announced 24
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.00

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 95% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

4 Player Local
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Dungeon Crawler
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
4 Player Local, Dungeon Crawler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Local Co-Op
Price point
$9.00 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.00.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 881 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $7.0k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

4 Player Local with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Open WorldFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  2. + Multiple EndingsFair10 devs · median $3.6k · 10 announced
  3. + SimulationFair69 devs · median $2.1k · 86 announced
  4. + Immersive SimFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 15 announced
  5. + CatsFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 16 announced
  6. + RhythmFair10 devs · median $539 · 10 announced
  7. + ManagementPoor odds11 devs · median $22k · 37 announced
  8. + Football (Soccer)Poor odds14 devs · median $15k · 27 announced
  9. + Beat 'em upPoor odds30 devs · median $8.7k · 67 announced
  10. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds15 devs · median $8.5k · 19 announced
  11. + TriviaPoor odds9 devs · median $7.2k · 9 announced
  12. + MinigamesPoor odds12 devs · median $7.2k · 28 announced

All 109 pairs on the 4 Player Local page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Barony 2015 · $7.6M Lost Castle / 失落城堡 2016 · $5.5M Gauntlet™ Slayer Edition 2014 · $4.0M Chronicon 2020 · $3.7M Crawl 2017 · $2.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Barony older $19.99 12,714 90% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,624,586) Turning Wheel LLC
Lost Castle / 失落城堡 older $9.99 18,417 87% 553k $5.5M (exactly $5,519,575) Hunter Studio
Gauntlet™ Slayer Edition older $19.99 6,690 81% 201k $4.0M (exactly $4,011,993) Arrowhead Game Studios
Chronicon older $13.99 8,822 94% 265k $3.7M (exactly $3,702,593) Subworld
Crawl older $14.99 5,625 95% 169k $2.5M (exactly $2,529,562) Powerhoof
Hammerwatch older $9.99 3,668 88% 110k $1.1M (exactly $1,099,300) Crackshell
Dungeons of Sundaria older $9.99 3,061 74% 92k $917k (exactly $917,382) Industry Games
Legend of Dungeon older $9.99 1,220 72% 37k $366k (exactly $365,634) Robot Loves Kitty
DuneCrawl $19.99 568 74% 17k $341k (exactly $340,630) Alientrap
Metaverse Keeper / 元能失控 · EA older $14.99 588 77% 18k $264k (exactly $264,424) Sparks Games
INTO EVIL · EA $14.99 106 92% 3.2k $48k (exactly $47,668) Mind's Eye Games
Rogue Fist $8.99 92 89% 2.8k $25k (exactly $24,812) Wetcoat Games
CTHULOOT $14.99 32 81% 960 $14k (exactly $14,390) Pixelnest Studio, Headbang Club
Skulltide $12.99 18 66% 540 $7.0k (exactly $7,015) The Planar Danse
Run From Mummies $9.99 22 100% 660 $6.6k (exactly $6,593) Lost Turnip, LLC
Brigands $9.99 15 73% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Simon Rinfret, Azooloom
Crypt Crawler $7.99 15 100% 450 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Wild Domain
Into The Matrix · EA $9.00 5 80% 150 $1.4k (exactly $1,350) theeib
RAGDOLL UNIVERSE · EA $4.99 8 87% 240 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) MageC

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