Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Modern

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Modern-Day Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Modern

Only 16 developers shipped a Modern-Day 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, Yet Another Zombie Survivors, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 36 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $6.3M, ×13371 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 36 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 36 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Modern
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $30 → $25k → $239 → $599 → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Modern: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,838)
Top 5% $6.4M (exactly $6,351,113)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 36
Announced 36
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 65% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Modern
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
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 14,751 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $600, 1 in 4 over $3.8k, 1 in 20 over $6.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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

Yet Another Zombie Survivors 2026 · $6.4M Metal Thunder 2024 · EA · $187k AbsentedAge: Squarebound 2020 · $26k Elsie 2024 · $25k [International] AbsentedAge: Squarebound 2021 · $22k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Yet Another Zombie Survivors $14.99 14,123 91% 424k $6.4M (exactly $6,351,113) Awesome Games Studio
Metal Thunder · EA $10.99 567 76% 17k $187k (exactly $186,940) Dumbbell Games
AbsentedAge: Squarebound older $12.99 67 91% 2.0k $26k (exactly $26,110) terunon's Lab
Elsie older $19.99 41 70% 1.2k $25k (exactly $24,588) Knight Shift Games
[International] AbsentedAge: Squarebound older $15.99 46 93% 1.4k $22k (exactly $22,066) terunon's Lab
AbsentedAge 2: Ghostbound older $12.99 24 100% 720 $9.4k (exactly $9,353) terunon's Lab
Struggle Offensive · EA older $1.99 132 63% 4.0k $7.9k (exactly $7,880) OXO Games
Puppet Kings older $9.99 20 75% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Timba Games
Feminization Device $6.99 28 75% 840 $5.9k (exactly $5,872) FT Girl Studio
[English] AbsentedAge 2: Ghostbound $15.99 8 100% 240 $3.8k (exactly $3,838) terunon's Lab
Just Eat The Rich $6.99 10 100% 300 $2.1k (exactly $2,097) Birdman
Don't Forget to Smile $5.99 5 100% 150 $898 (exactly $898) Existerror Digital
LeadCount $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) HAKDU
Xeno Strikers Hyper Squadron $4.99 4 75% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Synthesizer Games
Collapse Zone $6.99 2 50% 60 $419 (exactly $419) Znan Games
Soul Machine $4.99 2 0% 60 $299 (exactly $299) Zanarka Studio

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