Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Ninja

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Ninja Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Ninja

Of 22 developers who shipped a Ninja 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.. 29 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 16 developers shipped in the last year and 29 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 29 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Ninja
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $6.3k → $90 → $60 → $836 → $269 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Ninja: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,696)
Top 5% $20k (exactly $20,135)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 59
Announced 29
Effort 5 / 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 40% on the market, supply 165% 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
Ninja
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action Roguelike; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelite, Hack and Slash
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Stylized, Atmospheric
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 76% positive over 331 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $270, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $20k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Oblivion Override 2024 · $913k Super House of Dead Ninjas 2013 · $882k Bing in Wonderland 2023 · $545k Samurai Bringer 2022 · $303k Shing! 2020 · $200k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Oblivion Override older $17.99 1,692 90% 51k $913k (exactly $913,172) Humble Mill
Super House of Dead Ninjas older $19.99 1,470 96% 44k $882k (exactly $881,559) Megadev
Bing in Wonderland older $8.99 2,020 97% 61k $545k (exactly $544,794) Wanba Studio
Samurai Bringer older $9.99 1,012 87% 30k $303k (exactly $303,296) ALPHAWING Inc.
Shing! older $19.99 334 79% 10k $200k (exactly $200,300) Mass Creation
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising older $29.99 211 72% 6.3k $190k (exactly $189,837) LANCARSE
Mexican Ninja $16.99 76 89% 2.3k $39k (exactly $38,737) Madbricks
Ninja Soul older $9.99 119 74% 3.6k $36k (exactly $35,664) Ash Game Studio
Straimium Immortaly older $6.99 157 89% 4.7k $33k (exactly $32,923) caiys
HYAKKI YAKO Survivor $7.99 84 67% 2.5k $20k (exactly $20,135) pixyda,inc.
Cursed Blood · EA $14.99 37 75% 1.1k $17k (exactly $16,639) David Marquardt Studios
Rogue Samurai $5.99 60 53% 1.8k $11k (exactly $10,782) CO's Entertainment
High Fructose · EA $9.99 29 89% 870 $8.7k (exactly $8,691) Chazak Games
Nightmarena $5.99 15 93% 450 $2.7k (exactly $2,696) Colo Coko
Mukuro no Rasen $8.99 8 100% 240 $2.2k (exactly $2,158) Matrix Corporation
Rikua · EA $9.99 5 100% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) Stiff Ballerina
Slashboy $1.99 14 92% 420 $836 (exactly $836) Punch Game Project
Dual Force $3.99 3 100% 90 $359 (exactly $359) Howling Beast Entertainment

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