Do I ship it?

GamesDestructionDestruction + Action Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Action Roguelike Destruction game?

Destruction + Action Roguelike

Of 61 developers who shipped an Action Roguelike Destruction game 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.. 163 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×3.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $510k, ×821 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 163 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.3 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 163 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Destruction + Action Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 61
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $8.1k → $2.4k → $2.7k → $4.8k → $899 (still earning) → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Destruction + Action Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 61
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,096)
Top 25% $7.8k (exactly $7,792)
Top 5% $516k (exactly $515,816)
Developers, 2 yr 61
Released games 125
Announced 163
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 flat on the market, supply 65% 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.

Destruction
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Destruction, Action Roguelike; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelike, Roguelite
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 3D, Difficult
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 7,910 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $7.7k, 1 in 20 over $510k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 163 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Space SimFair14 devs · median $3.7k · 22 announced
  2. + ModernFair26 devs · median $1.6k · 28 announced
  3. + God GameFair19 devs · median $899 · 20 announced
  4. + Hidden ObjectFair9 devs · median $719 · 14 announced
  5. + Hack and SlashPoor odds19 devs · median $43k · 57 announced
  6. + HistoricalPoor odds15 devs · median $26k · 22 announced
  7. + CapitalismPoor odds17 devs · median $15k · 46 announced
  8. + Online Co-OpPoor odds37 devs · median $13k · 102 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds50 devs · median $11k · 113 announced
  10. + Automobile SimPoor odds22 devs · median $9.0k · 44 announced
  11. + ManagementPoor odds36 devs · median $6.1k · 129 announced
  12. + AutomationPoor odds22 devs · median $6.0k · 46 announced

All 139 pairs on the Destruction page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Brigador: Up-Armored Edition older $24.99 4,580 93% 137k $3.4M (exactly $3,433,626) Stellar Jockeys, Gausswerks
VOID/BREAKER · EA $29.99 2,506 91% 75k $2.3M (exactly $2,254,648) Stubby Games
Carmageddon: Rogue Shift $39.99 752 62% 23k $902k (exactly $902,174) 34BigThings srl
Clone Drone in the Hyperdome $19.99 1,048 91% 31k $628k (exactly $628,486) Doborog Games
Star Fire: Eternal Cycle $16.99 1,012 91% 30k $516k (exactly $515,816) Ethereal Fish Studio
Sektori $14.99 897 96% 27k $403k (exactly $403,381) Kimmo Lahtinen
Galactic Glitch $12.99 920 89% 28k $359k (exactly $358,524) Crunchy Leaf Games
Octogeddon older $8.88 1,298 92% 39k $346k (exactly $345,787) All Yes Good
Doomsday Hunters older $15.99 703 89% 21k $337k (exactly $337,229) Moregames
Fictorum older $9.99 1,034 78% 31k $310k (exactly $309,890) Scraping Bottom Games
Wartorn $34.99 130 73% 3.9k $136k (exactly $136,461) Stray Kite Studios
TOP DOG $9.99 263 88% 7.9k $79k (exactly $78,821) MorfeoDev
MYRIAD DEATH $8.99 274 85% 8.2k $74k (exactly $73,898) IGNITION M, Clover Lab.,inc.
Masks of the Void: Origins $14.99 108 97% 3.2k $49k (exactly $48,568) ROLLDBOX GAMES

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