Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Hacking

Only 15 developers shipped a Hacking 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, Net.Attack() - Code or Die!, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 33 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×257 the market median. Revenue is up 135% on the market; 33 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 135% on the market, 33 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Hacking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $628 → $3.3k → $2.5k → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $3.3k (exactly $3,297)
Top 5% $122k (exactly $122,247)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 35
Announced 33
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 up 135% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Hacking
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
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 1,209 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $750, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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

Deadlink 2023 · $2.2M Net.Attack() - Code or Die! 2026 · $122k Minutescape 2025 · $98k ATOMINE 2017 · $97k DROP - System Breach 2023 · $53k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Deadlink older $24.99 2,871 90% 86k $2.2M (exactly $2,152,389) Gruby Entertainment
Net.Attack() - Code or Die! $7.99 510 80% 15k $122k (exactly $122,247) ByteRockers' Games
Minutescape $5.99 546 74% 16k $98k (exactly $98,116) Molter
ATOMINE older $9.99 324 74% 9.7k $97k (exactly $97,103) Broken Arms Games
DROP - System Breach older $9.99 178 86% 5.3k $53k (exactly $53,347) Etherfield Studio
Lia: Hacking Destiny $14.99 92 96% 2.8k $41k (exactly $41,372) Orube Game Studio
Deadnaut older $9.99 128 67% 3.8k $38k (exactly $38,362) Screwfly Studios
ICEwall older $8.99 38 81% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,249) Erlend Kirkeboe
CTRL Phreak older $4.99 25 100% 750 $3.7k (exactly $3,742) Robot-Satan
Katana Rama older $4.99 24 79% 720 $3.6k (exactly $3,593) Ghost Machine Games
LYMBUS $9.99 11 90% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Happy Accident Studios
TYPE $4.99 17 88% 510 $2.5k (exactly $2,545) Parcyval
Dash'n'Drops · EA $6.99 12 91% 360 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) Le Moulin aux Bulles
Coreward $2.99 11 72% 330 $987 (exactly $987) carllacan
Battle Bits $4.99 5 40% 150 $748 (exactly $748) NecoPlanet
Dead Sector $4.99 3 100% 90 $449 (exactly $449) Jim O'Connor
UPLOAD $4.99 2 50% 60 $299 (exactly $299) Static Signal

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