Do I ship it?

GamesAction RoguelikeAction Roguelike + Dynamic Narration

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dynamic Narration Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Dynamic Narration

Only 9 developers shipped a Dynamic Narration Action Roguelike 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, Lethal Honor - Order of the Apocalypse, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×6.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $630; 1 in 20 cleared $21k, ×46 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 25 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.9 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 25 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Dynamic Narration
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $12k → $718 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Dynamic Narration: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $628 (exactly $628)
Median $3.3k (exactly $3,293)
Top 25% $8.5k (exactly $8,544)
Top 5% $22k (exactly $21,741)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 26
Announced 25
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 700% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Dynamic Narration
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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, Dynamic Narration
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.00.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 1,496 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $3.3k, 1 in 4 over $8.5k, 1 in 20 over $21k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 25 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

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. + 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Heading Out older $19.99 639 74% 19k $383k (exactly $383,208) Serious Sim, Crunching Koalas
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising older $29.99 211 72% 6.3k $190k (exactly $189,837) LANCARSE
Linguist FPS - The Language Learning FPS older $14.99 192 71% 5.8k $86k (exactly $86,342) Rocket Boy Games
DinoSystem · EA older $7.99 247 92% 7.4k $59k (exactly $59,206) Daniele Ferraro
Uberlaufer · EA older $10.00 74 83% 2.2k $22k (exactly $22,200) Think Tank Decoy Software LLC
Lethal Honor - Order of the Apocalypse $24.99 29 96% 870 $22k (exactly $21,741) Viral Studios
Steel Knight's ARMIS $9.99 40 57% 1.2k $12k (exactly $11,988) Izanami Game Lab, Inc., FORCES
Aris Arcanum $14.99 19 73% 570 $8.5k (exactly $8,544) Broken Cane
Assault Armored Girls War Vasileia $9.99 21 71% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) studio core
Attack of the Karens older $4.99 24 100% 720 $3.6k (exactly $3,593) Studio Primitive
AHAPIKA – Heroic Agency · EA $4.99 22 100% 660 $3.3k (exactly $3,293) Pixeliantika
Exit, Seriously? $3.99 6 83% 180 $718 (exactly $718) Forbidden
Domain of Hallucination · EA $2.99 7 100% 210 $628 (exactly $628) Livio Cozzio, Marcel Schürch, Carla Wid… (Livio Cozzio, Marcel Schürch, Carla Widmer, Jonas Wiesli, rnaisa)
Level 37: The Ritewood Anomaly $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Flux Games
Gems are Mine, Slashes are Yours: Blood & Blessing $9.99 2 0% 60 $599 (exactly $599) DIM Games

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