Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Local Multiplayer
Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Action Roguelike?
Action Roguelike + Local Multiplayer
Of 67 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer 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.. 111 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 $1.6k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $560k, ×1187 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 111 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,647) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $13,762) |
| Top 5% | $564k (exactly $563,718) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 67 |
| Released games | 182 |
| Announced | 111 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Local Multiplayer
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Action Roguelike, Local Multiplayer; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Co-Op, Co-op
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 13,092 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 111 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action Roguelike with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomanceStrong odds
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + SportsFair
- + Boss RushFair
- + VampiresFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DogsFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + FaithFair
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Wizard of Legend | older | $15.99 | 17,322 91% | 520k | $8.3M (exactly $8,309,363) | Contingent99 |
| | Barony | older | $19.99 | 12,714 90% | 381k | $7.6M (exactly $7,624,586) | Turning Wheel LLC |
| | Rotwood | $29.99 | 7,459 74% | 224k | $6.7M (exactly $6,710,862) | Klei Entertainment | |
| | Spelunky | older | $14.99 | 14,676 92% | 440k | $6.6M (exactly $6,599,797) | Mossmouth |
| | Lost Castle / 失落城堡 | older | $9.99 | 18,417 87% | 553k | $5.5M (exactly $5,519,575) | Hunter Studio |
| | Nuclear Throne | older | $11.99 | 15,047 96% | 451k | $5.4M (exactly $5,412,406) | Vlambeer |
| | Ember Knights | older | $19.99 | 6,065 93% | 182k | $3.6M (exactly $3,637,180) | Doom Turtle |
| | Ship of Fools | older | $21.99 | 5,040 82% | 151k | $3.3M (exactly $3,324,888) | Fika Productions |
| | Crawl | older | $14.99 | 5,625 95% | 169k | $2.5M (exactly $2,529,562) | Powerhoof |
| | Feed the Cups | · EA older | $15.99 | 4,708 72% | 141k | $2.3M (exactly $2,258,428) | Vambear Games |
| | Unrailed 2: Back on Track | $19.99 | 1,794 88% | 54k | $1.1M (exactly $1,075,862) | Indoor Astronaut | |
| | Wild Woods | · EA | $14.99 | 1,746 78% | 52k | $785k (exactly $785,176) | Octofox Games |
| | Rogue Point | $19.99 | 940 63% | 28k | $564k (exactly $563,718) | Crowbar Collective | |
| | Shape Shifter: Formations | $14.99 | 269 91% | 8.1k | $121k (exactly $120,969) | Castec Studios | |
| | Final Knight | · EA | $13.99 | 180 77% | 5.4k | $76k (exactly $75,546) | 2oclocksoft |
| | Hangtime! | $9.99 | 250 77% | 7.5k | $75k (exactly $74,925) | Leo Langlois | |
| | Super Alloy Crush | · EA | $11.99 | 194 90% | 5.8k | $70k (exactly $69,782) | Alloy Mushroom |
| | I'm No Demonlord | $8.99 | 163 84% | 4.9k | $44k (exactly $43,961) | NiaoWu Studio | |
| | Flying Tank | $14.99 | 97 86% | 2.9k | $44k (exactly $43,621) | Hexage |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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