Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Mystery Dungeon

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Dungeon Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Mystery Dungeon

Of 50 developers who shipped a Mystery Dungeon 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.. 106 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $810, ×1.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×577 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 106 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 106 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Mystery Dungeon
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 50
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $72k → $3.6k → $718 → $809 → $2.7k → $719 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Mystery Dungeon: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 50
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $809 (exactly $809)
Top 25% $4.3k (exactly $4,315)
Top 5% $274k (exactly $273,867)
Developers, 2 yr 50
Released games 143
Announced 106
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 25% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Mystery Dungeon
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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, Mystery Dungeon; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelike, Roguelite
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Pixel Graphics, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 3,599 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $810, 1 in 4 over $4.3k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 106 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

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. + 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

ENDLESS Dungeon™ - Definitive Edition 2023 · $1.3M Boyfriend Dungeon 2021 · $1.3M Rustil: Eternal Labyrinth Castle 2026 · $541k Hellboy Web of Wyrd 2023 · $511k Skull Horde 2026 · $422k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ENDLESS Dungeon™ - Definitive Edition older $14.99 2,953 64% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,327,964) AMPLITUDE Studios
Boyfriend Dungeon older $19.99 2,105 91% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,262,368) Kitfox Games
Rustil: Eternal Labyrinth Castle $18.99 950 71% 29k $541k (exactly $541,215) KTMG LLC.
Hellboy Web of Wyrd older $24.99 681 71% 20k $511k (exactly $510,546) Upstream Arcade
Skull Horde $12.99 1,083 81% 32k $422k (exactly $422,045) 8BitSkull
Guidus Zero $14.99 609 75% 18k $274k (exactly $273,867) izzle
Full Mojo Rampage older $12.99 524 85% 16k $204k (exactly $204,203) Over the Top Games
Touhou ~Red Empress Devil. $8.99 438 70% 13k $118k (exactly $118,129) STUDIO POCO
The Land Beneath Us older $14.99 230 79% 6.9k $103k (exactly $103,431) FairPlay Studios
Skeletal Avenger older $16.99 158 82% 4.7k $81k (exactly $80,533) 10tons Ltd
Shana - Priestess of Tona $9.99 190 74% 5.7k $57k (exactly $56,943) Lustration Team
Into the Restless Ruins $14.99 109 83% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,017) Ant Workshop Ltd
Bobo's Big Tower $9.99 93 92% 2.8k $28k (exactly $27,872) SillyKitty
Dream Abyss: Survivors $9.99 47 70% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,086) Studio215, NeonEggGames
Rusty Rangers $14.99 27 88% 810 $12k (exactly $12,142) Fantastica!
Holy Shot $5.99 53 84% 1.6k $9.5k (exactly $9,524) LoneWolf Digital Arts

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