Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fantasy Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Fantasy

Of 800 developers who shipped a Fantasy 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.. 1,383 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×2.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×422 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 1,383 games are announced against 489 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 1,383 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 800
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $2.0k → $2.0k → $1.3k → $1.6k → $1.5k → $628 (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 800
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $7.2k (exactly $7,195)
Top 5% $200k (exactly $200,299)
Developers, 2 yr 800
Released games 1,723
Announced 1,383
Effort 4 / 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 30% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Fantasy
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; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelike, Roguelite
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 99,106 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 $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 368 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,383 games are announced against 489 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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

Cult of the Lamb 2022 · $84M Skul: The Hero Slayer 2021 · $30M Children of Morta 2019 · $12M Shape of Dreams 2025 · $12M Moonlighter 2018 · $10M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cult of the Lamb older $24.99 112,096 95% 3.4M $84M (exactly $84,038,371) Massive Monster
Skul: The Hero Slayer older $19.99 50,801 93% 1.5M $30M (exactly $30,465,360) SOUTHPAW GAMES
Children of Morta older $21.99 18,213 88% 546k $12M (exactly $12,015,116) Dead Mage
Shape of Dreams $24.99 15,769 89% 473k $12M (exactly $11,822,019) Lizard Smoothie
Moonlighter older $19.99 17,286 82% 519k $10M (exactly $10,366,414) Digital Sun
Hero Siege older $7.99 36,844 67% 1.1M $8.8M (exactly $8,831,507) Panic Art Studios Ltd
Barony older $19.99 12,714 90% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,624,586) Turning Wheel LLC
Rogue Legacy older $14.99 15,877 92% 476k $7.1M (exactly $7,139,887) Cellar Door Games
Absolum $24.99 9,399 91% 282k $7.0M (exactly $7,046,430) Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, Supamonks
Sephiria $17.99 11,582 94% 347k $6.3M (exactly $6,250,805) TEAM HORAY
Halls of Torment $6.66 30,752 95% 923k $6.1M (exactly $6,144,250) Chasing Carrots
Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap $29.99 4,053 69% 122k $3.6M (exactly $3,646,484) Robot Entertainment
Heroes of Hammerwatch II $19.99 5,806 82% 174k $3.5M (exactly $3,481,858) Crackshell
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault $29.99 3,146 80% 94k $2.8M (exactly $2,830,456) Digital Sun
YAPYAP $9.99 8,385 83% 252k $2.5M (exactly $2,512,984) Maison Bap
Tower of Babel: Survivors of Chaos $12.99 6,281 68% 188k $2.4M (exactly $2,447,706) NANOO
LORT · EA $14.99 3,933 77% 118k $1.8M (exactly $1,768,670) Big Distraction

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