Do I ship it?

GamesAction RoguelikeAction Roguelike + Grid-Based Movement

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Grid-Based Movement

Only 18 developers shipped a Grid-Based Movement 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, Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 49 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×6.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $5.5M, ×11727 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 49 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 49 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Grid-Based Movement
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.2k → $15k → $4.3k → $899 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Grid-Based Movement: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $3.1k (exactly $3,055)
Top 25% $7.4k (exactly $7,404)
Top 5% $5.6M (exactly $5,570,524)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 38
Announced 49
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 down 80% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Grid-Based Movement
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, Grid-Based Movement; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Action, Roguelite
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 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 $9.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 18,894 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 $3.1k, 1 in 4 over $7.4k, 1 in 20 over $5.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 49 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 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
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors $9.99 18,587 96% 558k $5.6M (exactly $5,570,524) poncle, Nosebleed Interactive
Ignited Steel: Mech Tactics older $14.99 82 73% 2.5k $37k (exactly $36,875) Yokaicade
Chrysalis $9.99 118 84% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,365) Metamorph Games
Cramped Room of Death older $14.99 69 94% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,029) Hafiz Mohd Rozlan
Blocky Dungeon older $9.99 77 84% 2.3k $23k (exactly $23,077) SquareAnon
[International] AbsentedAge: Squarebound older $15.99 46 93% 1.4k $22k (exactly $22,066) terunon's Lab
WORMHOLE $9.99 51 98% 1.5k $15k (exactly $15,285) Pocket Moon Games, ThanaThan
Dreamsweeper older $9.99 38 76% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) Etherlight, Oatmello
TORSO TENNIS $4.99 63 100% 1.9k $9.4k (exactly $9,431) Michael Mato
Slayer : the Demon Haunted World $12.99 19 68% 570 $7.4k (exactly $7,404) PLAY Mephistowaltz
Remnants of the Rift $14.99 15 86% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) Bromio
Trial of Ariah $11.95 12 91% 360 $4.3k (exactly $4,302) 30 Minute Games
[English] AbsentedAge 2: Ghostbound $15.99 8 100% 240 $3.8k (exactly $3,838) terunon's Lab
Petrified Pawns $5.99 17 88% 510 $3.1k (exactly $3,055) Bepansrad Studio
BROKEN SOUL : Boss Rush $12.99 4 75% 120 $1.6k (exactly $1,559) DoubleJLabs

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