Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Idler

Of 44 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 55 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×2.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 55 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 90% on the market, 55 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 44
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $298 → $1.5k → $1.8k → $987 → $1.9k → $150 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 44
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,593)
Top 5% $98k (exactly $98,116)
Developers, 2 yr 44
Released games 81
Announced 55
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 up 90% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

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, Idler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Action, Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 27,134 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $98k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + DogsFair19 devs · median $899 · 18 announced
  7. + Precision PlatformerFair36 devs · median $629 · 38 announced
  8. + FaithFair16 devs · median $449 · 21 announced
  9. + Character Action GamePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 40 announced
  10. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $12k · 14 announced
  11. + MechsPoor odds44 devs · median $12k · 85 announced
  12. + Visual NovelPoor odds23 devs · median $12k · 23 announced

All 205 pairs on the Action Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

BALL x PIT 2025 · $11M 👑 Idle Calibur 👑（选王之剑） 2022 · $298k Flash Doll 2025 · $232k Doom Sweeper 2024 · $117k Minutescape 2025 · $98k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BALL x PIT $14.99 24,714 95% 741k $11M (exactly $11,113,886) Kenny Sun and Friends
👑 Idle Calibur 👑（选王之剑） older $7.99 1,242 85% 37k $298k (exactly $297,707) 绝汪
Flash Doll $8.99 859 80% 26k $232k (exactly $231,672) Game Star
Doom Sweeper older $4.99 782 72% 23k $117k (exactly $117,065) Paper Dog
Minutescape $5.99 546 74% 16k $98k (exactly $98,116) Molter
KUNKUN Defender older $2.99 822 97% 25k $74k (exactly $73,733) Seal
Duncrush $3.99 321 82% 9.6k $38k (exactly $38,424) Golden Pick Games
Siegeturtle $4.99 254 86% 7.6k $38k (exactly $38,024) YYZ Studio
Mining Survivors $4.99 132 74% 4.0k $20k (exactly $19,760) Wonderbounce Games
Desktop Heroes $5.99 103 69% 3.1k $19k (exactly $18,509) Telazer
Limitless Survivor $3.99 139 77% 4.2k $17k (exactly $16,638) Tam Lab
Loot Dungeon $6.99 44 54% 1.3k $9.2k (exactly $9,227) Electric Kite
Dungeon Market Simulator $9.99 22 40% 660 $6.6k (exactly $6,593) DarkRook Interactive

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