Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Dragons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dragon Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Dragons

Of 29 developers who shipped a Dragon 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.. 47 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×165 the market median. Revenue is up 215% on the market; 47 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 215% on the market, 47 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Dragons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $629 → $3.3k → $3.0k → $718 → $4.1k → $150 → $1.2k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Dragons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $6.1k (exactly $6,081)
Top 5% $104k (exactly $103,660)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 84
Announced 47
Effort 5 / 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 215% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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
Dragons
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action Roguelike; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelite, RPG
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 1,865 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 $900, 1 in 4 over $6.0k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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

GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon 2022 · $722k Dragon Is Dead 2025 · $396k Mirror of Heaven 2024 · $276k Start an egg 2023 · EA · $159k Pathfinder: Gallowspire Survivors 2024 · $117k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon older $24.99 963 76% 29k $722k (exactly $721,961) KONAMI, GuruGuru
Dragon Is Dead $19.99 661 75% 20k $396k (exactly $396,402) TeamSuneat
Mirror of Heaven older $9.25 995 79% 30k $276k (exactly $276,112) EnjoyPlay Ltd
Start an egg · EA older $15.99 332 77% 10k $159k (exactly $159,260) Ting Game
Pathfinder: Gallowspire Survivors older $6.99 559 59% 17k $117k (exactly $117,222) BKOM Studios
The Awakener: Forgotten Oath older $16.99 212 71% 6.4k $108k (exactly $108,056) TANER GAMES
Circle Empires 2 $12.99 266 72% 8.0k $104k (exactly $103,660) Luminous
Mage and Monsters II $8.99 372 82% 11k $100k (exactly $100,328) Lasse Zacho Malver
Struggle F.O $8.80 243 67% 7.3k $64k (exactly $64,152) Espada Inc.
Choice Chamber older $9.99 123 89% 3.7k $37k (exactly $36,863) Studio Bean
Black Dragon Mage · EA $5.99 140 70% 4.2k $25k (exactly $25,158) datablob
Nevergrind $12.99 60 68% 1.8k $23k (exactly $23,382) Neverworks Games
Draggin' $4.99 56 98% 1.7k $8.4k (exactly $8,383) Dragon Fractal Games
Rune Ark $6.99 29 65% 870 $6.1k (exactly $6,081) WelesGames
Ancient Guardians: The Dragon $5.99 23 82% 690 $4.1k (exactly $4,133) Luphix
Nightmarena $5.99 15 93% 450 $2.7k (exactly $2,696) Colo Coko

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