Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Puzzle Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Platformer Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Puzzle Platformer

Of 20 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 28 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $120 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 7 developers shipped in the last year and 28 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 4200% on the market, 28 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Puzzle Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.3k → $89 → $1.3k → $599 → $60 → $958 → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Puzzle Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $120 (exactly $120)
Top 25% $719 (exactly $719)
Top 5% $9.8k (exactly $9,828)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 70
Announced 28
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 4200% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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 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, Puzzle Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 2D Platformer, Adventure
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 89 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 $120, 1 in 4 over $710, 1 in 20 over $9.8k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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

Spider Queen cave 2023 · $91k Ancient Abyss 2021 · EA · $73k Guayota 2024 · $18k ILY 2020 · $10k Slugterra All-Stars 2025 · $9.8k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Spider Queen cave older $18.99 159 40% 4.8k $91k (exactly $90,582) 帅宅快乐屋
Ancient Abyss · EA older $14.99 163 64% 4.9k $73k (exactly $73,301) Screambox Studio
Guayota older $14.99 40 92% 1.2k $18k (exactly $17,988) Team Delusion
ILY older $7.99 42 97% 1.3k $10k (exactly $10,067) FreeAnimals_Software, Dnovel
Slugterra All-Stars $7.99 41 90% 1.2k $9.8k (exactly $9,828) Nightmarket Games
Paintings Thief older $5.99 33 33% 990 $5.9k (exactly $5,930) madsug
CRYEP older $12.99 15 100% 450 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) IMLBE, Dnovel
Doughball Descent older $7.99 19 94% 570 $4.6k (exactly $4,554) Plubsoft
God Within VR · EA older $8.99 16 75% 480 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) S.Y. Games
Marabundle older $9.99 13 100% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) Astral Game Studio, Clops Game Studio,… (Astral Game Studio, Clops Game Studio, Ops Game Studio, Wired Dreams Studio)
There's Nothing Underground $7.99 7 100% 210 $1.7k (exactly $1,678) Palomar Games AB
Only Up: Chan Chained Together $2.99 13 38% 390 $1.2k (exactly $1,166) Darkwave Studios
Barfbot $3.99 8 87% 240 $958 (exactly $958) bSoftGames
Creation of a god: The Eternal Village $7.99 3 100% 90 $719 (exactly $719) Lost Dreams Games
Alchemists · EA $5.99 4 0% 120 $719 (exactly $719) WASD Game Studio
Exit, Seriously? $3.99 6 83% 180 $718 (exactly $718) Forbidden
Anzu $4.99 4 25% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Was Running Studio
Danmaku Girl $3.99 2 0% 60 $239 (exactly $239) SHAN YU
SUPER CAPSULE BOY $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) Federal Game Company, Ahmet Uyanış Çevi… (Federal Game Company, Ahmet Uyanış Çevikkol, Merve Türkmen Çevikkol)

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