Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Magic

Of 375 developers who shipped a Magic 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.. 746 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×2.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×268 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 746 games are announced against 230 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 746 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Magic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 375
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.3k → $599 → $898 → $1.3k → $1.7k → $1.6k → $629 (still earning) → $628 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 375
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,078)
Top 25% $6.3k (exactly $6,287)
Top 5% $127k (exactly $127,078)
Developers, 2 yr 375
Released games 838
Announced 746
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 down 15% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Magic
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; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelite, Roguelike
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 66,336 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 $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 170 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 746 games are announced against 230 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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

Shape of Dreams 2025 · $12M Wizard of Legend 2018 · $8.3M Magicraft 2024 · $7.2M The Spell Brigade 2026 · $5.7M Rabbit and Steel 2024 · $4.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Shape of Dreams $24.99 15,769 89% 473k $12M (exactly $11,822,019) Lizard Smoothie
Wizard of Legend older $15.99 17,322 91% 520k $8.3M (exactly $8,309,363) Contingent99
Magicraft $15.99 15,051 92% 452k $7.2M (exactly $7,219,965) Wave Games
The Spell Brigade $12.99 14,731 80% 442k $5.7M (exactly $5,740,671) Bolt Blaster Games
Rabbit and Steel older $14.99 10,159 96% 305k $4.6M (exactly $4,568,502) mino_dev
Death Must Die · EA older $6.99 20,937 90% 628k $4.4M (exactly $4,390,489) Realm Archive
Astral Ascent older $24.99 5,408 94% 162k $4.1M (exactly $4,054,378) Hibernian Workshop
Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap $29.99 4,053 69% 122k $3.6M (exactly $3,646,484) Robot Entertainment
YAPYAP $9.99 8,385 83% 252k $2.5M (exactly $2,512,984) Maison Bap
The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story™ older $29.99 2,527 83% 76k $2.3M (exactly $2,273,542) Digital Sun
Wizard of Legend 2 $24.99 1,968 53% 59k $1.5M (exactly $1,475,410) Dead Mage
Garden of Witches $18.99 1,978 92% 59k $1.1M (exactly $1,126,867) Team Tapas
Vellum $19.99 1,290 89% 39k $774k (exactly $773,613) Alvios Games
Touhou Dystopian $9.99 2,161 97% 65k $648k (exactly $647,652) Kay Lnk
Rustil: Eternal Labyrinth Castle $18.99 950 71% 29k $541k (exactly $541,215) KTMG LLC.

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