Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Puzzle

Of 68 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 119 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60; 1 in 20 cleared $93k, ×197 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 119 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 119 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 68
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $23k → $899 → $478 → $2.1k → $719 → $1.9k → $719 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 68
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,395)
Top 5% $94k (exactly $93,538)
Developers, 2 yr 68
Released games 186
Announced 119
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 15% on the market, supply as many developers as 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
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

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, Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 4,468 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $750, 1 in 4 over $5.3k, 1 in 20 over $93k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 44 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 119 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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

SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE 2020 · $6.9M Patch Quest 2023 · $925k Whisper Mountain Outbreak 2025 · EA · $580k PUSS! 2018 · $318k Roundguard 2020 · $269k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE older $24.99 9,247 85% 277k $6.9M (exactly $6,932,476) SUPERHOT Team
Patch Quest older $14.99 2,058 94% 62k $925k (exactly $925,483) Lychee Game Labs
Whisper Mountain Outbreak · EA $7.99 2,421 84% 73k $580k (exactly $580,314) Toge Productions
PUSS! older $9.99 1,062 92% 32k $318k (exactly $318,281) teamcoil
Roundguard older $19.99 449 80% 13k $269k (exactly $269,265) Wonderbelly Games
Trip to Vinelands older $4.99 1,572 85% 47k $235k (exactly $235,328) Walter Machado
Unexplored older $9.99 565 89% 17k $169k (exactly $169,330) Ludomotion
CAPTURED 2 $7.99 564 99% 17k $135k (exactly $135,191) Puck Redflix
Lake of Creatures $12.49 354 92% 11k $133k (exactly $132,644) ANTENNA GAMES
Magic Pussy: Chapter 2 older $9.99 425 75% 13k $127k (exactly $127,372) Taboo Tales 💘
Magic Pussy: Chapter 3 $14.99 208 77% 6.2k $94k (exactly $93,538) Dirty Adventures 🖤
Super Drift Blade $6.99 351 94% 11k $74k (exactly $73,605) Liujiajun
Bobo's Big Tower $9.99 93 92% 2.8k $28k (exactly $27,872) SillyKitty
Blitzkrieg Express $4.99 121 74% 3.6k $18k (exactly $18,114) Maksym Melnyk
Luctus $9.99 56 94% 1.7k $17k (exactly $16,783) Mriya Game Studio
Dawg Game $3.99 104 98% 3.1k $12k (exactly $12,449) Big Noses Entertainment
Orb Tower $1.99 196 95% 5.9k $12k (exactly $11,701) Pierre Vandermaesen

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