Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Boss Rush

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Boss Rush Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Boss Rush

Of 20 developers who shipped a Boss Rush Action Roguelike 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.. 19 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $900. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 19 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 70% on the market, 19 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Boss Rush
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $3.5k → $1.3k → $50k → $0 (still earning) → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Boss Rush: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $897 (exactly $897)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,647)
Top 25% $3.9k (exactly $3,896)
Top 5% $88k (exactly $87,715)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 37
Announced 19
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 70% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Action Roguelike
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Boss Rush
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
Action Roguelike, Boss Rush; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, PvE
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 646 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $3.8k, 1 in 20 over $87k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. All of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action Roguelike with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomanceStrong odds22 devs · median $6.5k · 17 announced
  2. + Creature CollectorFair39 devs · median $1.8k · 54 announced
  3. + SportsFair41 devs · median $1.6k · 39 announced
  4. + VampiresFair55 devs · median $1.3k · 52 announced
  5. + IdlerFair44 devs · median $1.0k · 55 announced
  6. + DogsFair19 devs · median $899 · 18 announced
  7. + Precision PlatformerFair36 devs · median $629 · 38 announced
  8. + FaithFair16 devs · median $449 · 21 announced
  9. + Character Action GamePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 40 announced
  10. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $12k · 14 announced
  11. + MechsPoor odds44 devs · median $12k · 85 announced
  12. + Visual NovelPoor odds23 devs · median $12k · 23 announced

All 205 pairs on the Action Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Void Rains Upon Her Heart 2018 · EA · $645k UNYIELDER 2025 · $88k ONE BTN BOSSES 2024 · $59k Second Stellar 2025 · EA · $50k Godstrike 2021 · $32k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Void Rains Upon Her Heart · EA older $12.99 1,655 99% 50k $645k (exactly $644,954) Veyeral Games
UNYIELDER $24.99 117 62% 3.5k $88k (exactly $87,715) TrueWorld Studios
ONE BTN BOSSES older $11.99 165 87% 5.0k $59k (exactly $59,350) Midnight Munchies
Second Stellar · EA $4.99 334 99% 10k $50k (exactly $50,000) Pepperlog
Godstrike older $5.99 180 66% 5.4k $32k (exactly $32,346) OverPowered Team
Gripper older $19.99 51 84% 1.5k $31k (exactly $30,585) Heart Core
Box Knight $14.99 48 93% 1.4k $22k (exactly $21,586) We Made A Thing Studios
99 Waves older $3.99 96 90% 2.9k $11k (exactly $11,491) Cold9, Cosnow
Dream Flash · EA older $9.99 30 100% 900 $9.0k (exactly $8,991) Ramaf Party
Puppet Kings older $9.99 20 75% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Timba Games
Dino Tower Arena $3.99 44 100% 1.3k $5.3k (exactly $5,267) OsKkarz_
Healer $9.99 13 76% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) Valentin Louvet
Pancake Patrol $4.99 25 92% 750 $3.7k (exactly $3,742) Power Plins Games
Echoes of Forgotten Dreams $4.99 25 100% 750 $3.7k (exactly $3,742) Nomary, Sesame
Clearing Blade · EA $8.99 13 92% 390 $3.5k (exactly $3,506) Devdepot
InTheLake $4.99 16 100% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) ZhiZhi
Periodicity - Hats and scars $4.99 11 90% 330 $1.6k (exactly $1,647) PunPun.Studio

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