Do I ship it?

Games › CRPG › CRPG + Action Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Action Roguelike CRPG?

CRPG + Action Roguelike

Only 13 developers shipped an Action Roguelike CRPG 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, CyberPimp 2069, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 36 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270, ×0.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 36 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper, while revenue is down 95% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 36 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
CRPG + Action Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $1.1k → $49k → $269 → $238 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for CRPG + Action Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $267 (exactly $267)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,095)
Top 5% $64k (exactly $63,685)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 57
Announced 36
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 95% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

CRPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Action Roguelike
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
CRPG, Action Roguelike
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 9 games average 89% positive over 465 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $270, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $63k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $26k · 14 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair84 devs · median $2.4k · 95 announced
  3. + TabletopFair22 devs · median $1.9k · 26 announced
  4. + Traditional RoguelikeFair12 devs · median $1.9k · 13 announced
  5. + 2D PlatformerFair62 devs · median $1.2k · 76 announced
  6. + IncrementalLong shot32 devs · median $449 · 27 announced
  7. + FMVPoor odds16 devs · median $58k · 14 announced
  8. + Card BattlerPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 28 announced
  9. + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds26 devs · median $23k · 46 announced
  10. + SpacePoor odds11 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds13 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  12. + Souls-likePoor odds12 devs · median $20k · 24 announced

All 123 pairs on the CRPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Chinese Online Game 2024 · $2.0M EdgeOfTheAbyssAwaken 2022 · $309k Start an egg 2023 · EA · $159k CyberPimp 2069 2025 · $64k Abyss Of Pleasure 2024 · $49k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Chinese Online Game older $9.99 6,610 82% 198k $2.0M (exactly $1,981,017) 648工作室
EdgeOfTheAbyssAwaken older $18.99 542 67% 16k $309k (exactly $308,777) TrinityBJ
Start an egg · EA older $15.99 332 77% 10k $159k (exactly $159,260) Ting Game
CyberPimp 2069 $17.99 118 87% 3.5k $64k (exactly $63,685) Entropy Digital Entertainment
Abyss Of Pleasure $11.80 139 88% 4.2k $49k (exactly $49,206) Jpegsama
Six-Ear Macaque: Awakening $6.99 79 98% 2.4k $17k (exactly $16,566) 红景天娱乐
Scars of Mars older $19.99 26 84% 780 $16k (exactly $15,592) ACQUIRE Corp.
Dark Bone Prison $5.99 84 95% 2.5k $15k (exactly $15,095) Bunny Moon Shady
Scarlet Moon · EA older $3.99 85 77% 2.6k $10k (exactly $10,174) 月亮上的佳宇
Phantom Tower · EA $12.99 24 75% 720 $9.4k (exactly $9,353) Horien Studio
Crystals of Power $2.99 3 66% 90 $269 (exactly $269) Andrew Betke
Steel Defence $0.99 9 66% 270 $267 (exactly $267) Storytime Studio
Moshcave $0.99 8 62% 240 $238 (exactly $238) LGV
Soul's Gambit $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Team Husk
Denizen's Den - Deeper Edition $1.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Christopher Nickels, Jason Davis, Ben L… (Christopher Nickels, Jason Davis, Ben Lake)

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