Do I ship it?

GamesEconomyEconomy + Action Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Action Roguelike Economy game?

Economy + Action Roguelike

Of 21 developers who shipped an Action Roguelike Economy 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.. 45 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×206 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 45 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 45 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Economy + Action Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $180 → $2.5k → $599 → $179 (still earning) → $95k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Economy + Action Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $598 (exactly $598)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,556)
Top 25% $3.4k (exactly $3,356)
Top 5% $130k (exactly $129,535)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 34
Announced 45
Effort 5 / 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 down 35% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Economy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Economy, Action Roguelike; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Roguelike, Action
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Colorful
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 82% positive over 2,033 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $3.3k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorFair116 devs · median $22k · 125 announced
  2. + Football (Soccer)Fair21 devs · median $6.8k · 29 announced
  3. + ScienceFair39 devs · median $5.9k · 39 announced
  4. + MiningFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  5. + LootFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  6. + CollectathonFair125 devs · median $3.8k · 151 announced
  7. + God GameFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  8. + Auto BattlerFair59 devs · median $2.4k · 79 announced
  9. + IdlerFair441 devs · median $2.3k · 589 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair408 devs · median $2.2k · 612 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  12. + Strategy RPGFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced

All 161 pairs on the Economy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Fell & Sell $9.99 1,428 84% 43k $428k (exactly $427,972) Art Games Studio S.A.
EcoGnomix $19.99 216 74% 6.5k $130k (exactly $129,535) Irox Games
Fracture Point $19.99 158 81% 4.7k $95k (exactly $94,753) Kyrylo Burlaka
Sea of Survivors · EA older $6.99 415 81% 12k $87k (exactly $87,026) Nah Yeah Games
Mining Survivors $4.99 132 74% 4.0k $20k (exactly $19,760) Wonderbounce Games
Funfair Billionaire $5.99 29 82% 870 $5.2k (exactly $5,211) Yunogames
StarDrift Delivery $7.99 14 100% 420 $3.4k (exactly $3,356) Infernitz
Sidewalk Simulator · EA $3.99 22 95% 660 $2.6k (exactly $2,633) XCCWARE LLC
Shorebound · EA $6.99 12 75% 360 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) Synax, Apeworks
Queen's Cards $5.99 12 91% 360 $2.2k (exactly $2,156) Raphus & Co.
Just Eat The Rich $6.99 10 100% 300 $2.1k (exactly $2,097) Birdman

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