Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Demons

Of 153 developers who shipped a Demon 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.. 257 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×260 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 257 games are announced against 89 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 257 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 153
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $479 → $1.2k → $2.2k → $719 → $2.6k → $449 (still earning) → $390 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 153
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $718 (exactly $718)
Top 25% $7.8k (exactly $7,792)
Top 5% $124k (exactly $123,668)
Developers, 2 yr 153
Released games 329
Announced 257
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 down 10% on the market, supply 35% 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.

Action Roguelike
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Demons
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelite, Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 41,366 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 $720, 1 in 4 over $7.7k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 68 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 257 games are announced against 89 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action Roguelike with a different setting or mood, 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. + Boss RushFair20 devs · median $1.6k · 19 announced
  5. + VampiresFair55 devs · median $1.3k · 52 announced
  6. + IdlerFair44 devs · median $1.0k · 55 announced
  7. + DogsFair19 devs · median $899 · 18 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerFair36 devs · median $629 · 38 announced
  9. + FaithFair16 devs · median $449 · 21 announced
  10. + Character Action GamePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 40 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $12k · 14 announced
  12. + MechsPoor odds44 devs · median $12k · 85 announced

All 205 pairs on the Action Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Halls of Torment 2024 · $6.1M Dead Estate 2021 · $2.6M Hell Clock 2025 · $2.1M 33 Immortals 2026 · $951k Bloodshed 2025 · $711k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Halls of Torment $6.66 30,752 95% 923k $6.1M (exactly $6,144,250) Chasing Carrots
Dead Estate older $14.99 5,778 95% 173k $2.6M (exactly $2,598,367) Milkbar Lads
Hell Clock $19.99 3,535 82% 106k $2.1M (exactly $2,119,940) Rogue Snail
33 Immortals $14.89 2,130 72% 64k $951k (exactly $951,471) Thunder Lotus
Bloodshed $12.99 1,824 84% 55k $711k (exactly $710,813) com8com1 Software
Grind Survivors $12.99 1,332 69% 40k $519k (exactly $519,080) Pushka Studios
Hellboy Web of Wyrd older $24.99 681 71% 20k $511k (exactly $510,546) Upstream Arcade
Dragon Is Dead $19.99 661 75% 20k $396k (exactly $396,402) TeamSuneat
Scarlet Tower older $6.99 1,831 81% 55k $384k (exactly $383,961) Pyxeralia LLC
PUSS! older $9.99 1,062 92% 32k $318k (exactly $318,281) teamcoil
Wartorn $34.99 130 73% 3.9k $136k (exactly $136,461) Stray Kite Studios
HELLBREAK $14.99 275 76% 8.3k $124k (exactly $123,668) Double Barrel Games
Holy Shoot $12.99 267 78% 8.0k $104k (exactly $104,050) Tale Era Interactive
Demon Hunt · EA $6.99 460 77% 14k $96k (exactly $96,462) Massive Hug

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