Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Dystopian

Of 57 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 165 more are announced, ×5.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×578 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 165 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 165 announced, ×5.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 57
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.0k → $599 → $446 → $2.4k → $36k → $599 → $1.8k (still earning) → $360 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 57
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,797)
Top 25% $19k (exactly $18,704)
Top 5% $275k (exactly $274,767)
Developers, 2 yr 57
Released games 131
Announced 165
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 50% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Dystopian
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
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 5,251 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $18k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 165 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.2 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

SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE 2020 · $6.9M Brigador: Up-Armored Edition 2016 · $3.4M Deadlink 2023 · $2.2M Going Under 2020 · $1.6M Marfusha:Sentinel Girls 2021 · $747k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE older $24.99 9,247 85% 277k $6.9M (exactly $6,932,476) SUPERHOT Team
Brigador: Up-Armored Edition older $24.99 4,580 93% 137k $3.4M (exactly $3,433,626) Stellar Jockeys, Gausswerks
Deadlink older $24.99 2,871 90% 86k $2.2M (exactly $2,152,389) Gruby Entertainment
Going Under older $19.99 2,702 92% 81k $1.6M (exactly $1,620,389) Aggro Crab
Marfusha:Sentinel Girls older $7.99 3,116 93% 93k $747k (exactly $746,905) hinyari9
Touhou Dystopian $9.99 2,161 97% 65k $648k (exactly $647,652) Kay Lnk
Snezhinka:Sentinel Girls2 older $7.99 2,433 96% 73k $583k (exactly $583,190) hinyari9
Ascend to ZERO $11.99 867 82% 26k $312k (exactly $311,860) Flyway Games, Inc.
RAM: Random Access Mayhem $14.99 611 97% 18k $275k (exactly $274,767) Xylem Studios
The Great Rebellion older $15.99 546 96% 16k $262k (exactly $261,916) Kvltgames
Reignbreaker $9.99 444 75% 13k $133k (exactly $133,067) Studio Fizbin
Tankenstein · EA $17.99 238 89% 7.1k $128k (exactly $128,449) Landship Games LTD
Sex Desert: Mad Lust $9.99 323 61% 9.7k $97k (exactly $96,803) Carnality INC
9th Sentinel Sisters $7.99 273 69% 8.2k $65k (exactly $65,438) Live Wire
Tarnished Blood 🩸 [Tactic RPG] · EA $19.99 87 88% 2.6k $52k (exactly $52,174) Juggler Games, Nakayama Games
Abyss Of Pleasure $11.80 139 88% 4.2k $49k (exactly $49,206) Jpegsama
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.