Games › 4 Player Local › 4 Player Local + Roguelite
Should I ship a 4 Player Local Roguelite?
4 Player Local + Roguelite
Of 45 developers who shipped a 4 Player Local Roguelite 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.. 62 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $57k, ×120 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 62 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $240 (exactly $240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $748 (exactly $748) |
| Top 25% | $9.0k (exactly $8,996) |
| Top 5% | $57k (exactly $57,192) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 45 |
| Released games | 103 |
| Announced | 62 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 85% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Roguelite
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- 4 Player Local, Roguelite; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Co-Op, Co-op
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 12,273 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 62 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
4 Player Local with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Open WorldFair
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + CatsFair
- + RhythmFair
- + ManagementPoor odds
- + Football (Soccer)Poor odds
- + Beat 'em upPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + TriviaPoor odds
- + MinigamesPoor odds
Comparable games
PlateUp! 2022 · $11M 
Lost Castle 2 2026 · $5.9M 
Lost Castle / 失落城堡 2016 · $5.5M 
Tape to Tape 2023 · EA · $2.1M 
Legend of Dungeon 2013 · $366k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | PlateUp! | older | $19.99 | 18,500 94% | 555k | $11M (exactly $11,094,450) | It's happening |
| | Lost Castle 2 | $17.99 | 10,851 78% | 326k | $5.9M (exactly $5,856,285) | Hunter Studio | |
| | Lost Castle / 失落城堡 | older | $9.99 | 18,417 87% | 553k | $5.5M (exactly $5,519,575) | Hunter Studio |
| | Tape to Tape | · EA older | $19.99 | 3,464 92% | 104k | $2.1M (exactly $2,077,361) | Excellent Rectangle |
| | Legend of Dungeon | older | $9.99 | 1,220 72% | 37k | $366k (exactly $365,634) | Robot Loves Kitty |
 | ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove! | older | $14.99 | 721 89% | 22k | $324k (exactly $324,234) | HumaNature Studios |
 | A Robot Named Fight! | older | $12.99 | 796 88% | 24k | $310k (exactly $310,201) | Morningstar Game Studio |
 | Metaverse Keeper / 元能失控 | · EA older | $14.99 | 588 77% | 18k | $264k (exactly $264,424) | Sparks Games |
 | This Means Warp | older | $19.99 | 438 71% | 13k | $263k (exactly $262,669) | Outlier |
 | Son of a Witch | older | $23.99 | 350 84% | 11k | $252k (exactly $251,895) | Bigosaur |
 | Bang Bang Barrage | $7.99 | 757 95% | 23k | $181k (exactly $181,453) | Monkey Bread | |
 | BattleCap | $11.99 | 159 96% | 4.8k | $57k (exactly $57,192) | MechAlmond Productions | |
 | INTO EVIL | · EA | $14.99 | 106 92% | 3.2k | $48k (exactly $47,668) | Mind's Eye Games |
 | This Is No Cave | $6.99 | 127 96% | 3.8k | $27k (exactly $26,632) | monome.studio | |
 | Rogue Fist | $8.99 | 92 89% | 2.8k | $25k (exactly $24,812) | Wetcoat Games | |
 | Cursed Blood | · EA | $14.99 | 37 75% | 1.1k | $17k (exactly $16,639) | David Marquardt Studios |
 | Concerto on White: Cajon Story | $8.99 | 59 94% | 1.8k | $16k (exactly $15,912) | C11 Games | |
 | Calcium Chaos | $9.99 | 52 96% | 1.6k | $16k (exactly $15,584) | Lunch Money Games | |
 | Wild Rumble | $14.99 | 33 87% | 990 | $15k (exactly $14,840) | Mean Mink |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.