Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Platformer Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Platformer

Of 180 developers who shipped a Platformer 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.. 270 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×2.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×550 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 270 games are announced against 116 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 270 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 180
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $2.1k → $1.8k → $1.7k → $1.6k → $1.5k → $898 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 180
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $5.7k (exactly $5,694)
Top 5% $261k (exactly $261,215)
Developers, 2 yr 180
Released games 523
Announced 270
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 down 30% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Platformer
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, Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelike, Roguelite
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 324,989 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 $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $5.6k, 1 in 20 over $260k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 79 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 270 games are announced against 116 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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

Dead Cells 2018 · $117M PEAK 2025 · $72M Skul: The Hero Slayer 2021 · $30M Neon Abyss 2020 · $19M BlazBlue Entropy Effect 2024 · $18M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dead Cells older $24.99 156,263 97% 4.7M $117M (exactly $117,150,371) Motion Twin
PEAK $7.99 301,964 94% 9.1M $72M (exactly $72,380,771) Team PEAK
Skul: The Hero Slayer older $19.99 50,801 93% 1.5M $30M (exactly $30,465,360) SOUTHPAW GAMES
Neon Abyss older $31.49 19,709 86% 591k $19M (exactly $18,619,092) Veewo Games
BlazBlue Entropy Effect older $19.99 30,410 94% 912k $18M (exactly $18,236,877) 91Act
Spelunky 2 older $19.99 19,736 93% 592k $12M (exactly $11,835,679) Mossmouth, BlitWorks
Rogue Legacy 2 older $24.99 14,238 90% 427k $11M (exactly $10,674,229) Cellar Door Games
Crab Champions · EA older $9.99 26,546 97% 796k $8.0M (exactly $7,955,836) Noisestorm
Haste $19.99 12,690 92% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,610,193) Landfall
Have a Nice Death older $24.99 9,729 85% 292k $7.3M (exactly $7,293,831) Magic Design Studios
The Rogue Prince of Persia $29.99 2,393 89% 72k $2.2M (exactly $2,152,982) Evil Empire
Neon Abyss 2 · EA $19.99 1,968 68% 59k $1.2M (exactly $1,180,210) Veewo Games
Pratfall $7.99 2,797 90% 84k $670k (exactly $670,441) Quad Head
OVIS LOOP · EA $16.99 1,083 88% 32k $552k (exactly $552,005) LIFUEL
Dragon Is Dead $19.99 661 75% 20k $396k (exactly $396,402) TeamSuneat
Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse $16.99 543 72% 16k $277k (exactly $276,767) Frontside 180
Katanaut $17.99 484 88% 15k $261k (exactly $261,215) Voidmaw
Poetry of Blood: Eclipse · EA $14.99 406 91% 12k $183k (exactly $182,578) ZeroGameStudio

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