Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Medieval

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Medieval Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Medieval

Of 234 developers who shipped a Medieval 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.. 455 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 $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $410k, ×883 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 455 games are announced against 142 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 455 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Medieval
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 234
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $599 → $880 → $718 → $3.4k → $1.1k → $1.3k (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Medieval: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 234
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $9.6k (exactly $9,581)
Top 5% $420k (exactly $419,570)
Developers, 2 yr 234
Released games 559
Announced 455
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 15% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Medieval
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
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 80% positive over 30,326 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $9.5k, 1 in 20 over $410k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 110 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 455 games are announced against 142 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

Rogue Legacy 2013 · $7.1M Exanima 2015 · EA · $5.7M We Who Are About To Die 2022 · EA · $5.4M Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap 2025 · $3.6M Heroes of Hammerwatch II 2025 · $3.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Rogue Legacy older $14.99 15,877 92% 476k $7.1M (exactly $7,139,887) Cellar Door Games
Exanima · EA older $14.99 12,684 80% 381k $5.7M (exactly $5,703,995) Bare Mettle Entertainment
We Who Are About To Die · EA older $21.99 8,134 88% 244k $5.4M (exactly $5,366,000) Jordy Lakiere
Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap $29.99 4,053 69% 122k $3.6M (exactly $3,646,484) Robot Entertainment
Heroes of Hammerwatch II $19.99 5,806 82% 174k $3.5M (exactly $3,481,858) Crackshell
VOIN · EA $19.99 3,319 94% 100k $2.0M (exactly $1,990,404) Nikita Sozidar
Tears of Metal · EA $24.99 2,359 85% 71k $1.8M (exactly $1,768,542) Paper Cult
Pass the Fear $18.99 2,985 79% 90k $1.7M (exactly $1,700,554) PlayMud Studio
Crimson Moon $19.99 2,760 59% 83k $1.7M (exactly $1,655,172) ProbablyMonsters
Lucky Tower Ultimate $14.99 2,281 94% 68k $1.0M (exactly $1,025,766) Studio Seufz
33 Immortals $14.89 2,130 72% 64k $951k (exactly $951,471) Thunder Lotus
Wanderburg · EA $14.99 2,103 78% 63k $946k (exactly $945,719) Randwerk
Conquest Dark · EA $9.99 2,530 89% 76k $758k (exactly $758,241) Eldritch Sword Games

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