Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Futuristic

Of 195 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 397 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×246 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 397 games are announced against 118 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 397 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 195
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $779 → $628 → $2.6k → $1.8k → $837 → $807 → $479 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 195
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $3.3k (exactly $3,293)
Top 5% $117k (exactly $116,941)
Developers, 2 yr 195
Released games 451
Announced 397
Effort 4 / 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 down 40% on the market, supply 50% 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
Futuristic
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelite, Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 11,851 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 $450, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 92 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 397 games are announced against 118 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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

VOID/BREAKER 2025 · EA · $2.3M Deadlink 2023 · $2.2M ROBOBEAT 2024 · $1.0M Oblivion Override 2024 · $913k METALLIC CHILD 2021 · $848k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
VOID/BREAKER · EA $29.99 2,506 91% 75k $2.3M (exactly $2,254,648) Stubby Games
Deadlink older $24.99 2,871 90% 86k $2.2M (exactly $2,152,389) Gruby Entertainment
ROBOBEAT older $19.99 1,708 94% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,024,288) Simon Fredholm
Oblivion Override older $17.99 1,692 90% 51k $913k (exactly $913,172) Humble Mill
METALLIC CHILD older $24.99 1,131 84% 34k $848k (exactly $847,911) Action Square(STUDIO HG)
Morbid Metal · EA $17.99 1,555 81% 47k $839k (exactly $839,233) SCREEN JUICE
Sky Rogue older $19.99 1,059 92% 32k $635k (exactly $635,082) Fractal Phase
Clone Drone in the Hyperdome $19.99 1,048 91% 31k $628k (exactly $628,486) Doborog Games
Picayune Dreams older $4.99 4,164 98% 125k $623k (exactly $623,351) Stepford, Andyland, milkypossum
Endless Alice · EA $8.99 2,307 91% 69k $622k (exactly $622,198) HowlingRain, 台灣響雨互娛, 響雨@OSAKA
OVIS LOOP · EA $16.99 1,083 88% 32k $552k (exactly $552,005) LIFUEL
Star Fire: Eternal Cycle $16.99 1,012 91% 30k $516k (exactly $515,816) Ethereal Fish Studio
Sektori $14.99 897 96% 27k $403k (exactly $403,381) Kimmo Lahtinen
Granvir $14.99 842 90% 25k $379k (exactly $378,647) Airborne Games
Poetry of Blood: Eclipse · EA $14.99 406 91% 12k $183k (exactly $182,578) ZeroGameStudio
RIG Riot $19.99 195 94% 5.9k $117k (exactly $116,941) Sage Boatman

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