Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Rhythm

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Rhythm Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Rhythm

Of 38 developers who shipped a Rhythm 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.. 56 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $660, ×1.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×256 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 56 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 56 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Rhythm
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $103k → $12k → $657 → $2.1k → $839 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Rhythm: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $657 (exactly $657)
Top 25% $6.4k (exactly $6,437)
Top 5% $122k (exactly $121,678)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 82
Announced 56
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 75% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Rhythm
effort 3 / 10 · medium · audio sync, timing precision and music rights

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, Rhythm; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelike, Bullet Hell
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Stylized, 3D
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 3,821 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 $660, 1 in 4 over $6.4k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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

BPM: BULLETS PER MINUTE 2020 · $5.8M Ratatan 2025 · EA · $1.8M ROBOBEAT 2024 · $1.0M Beat Blast 2021 · $128k Archons 2024 · $122k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BPM: BULLETS PER MINUTE older $19.99 9,598 91% 288k $5.8M (exactly $5,755,921) Awe Interactive
Ratatan · EA $24.99 2,449 85% 73k $1.8M (exactly $1,836,015) TVT Co. Ltd., Ratata Arts
ROBOBEAT older $19.99 1,708 94% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,024,288) Simon Fredholm
Beat Blast older $10.99 387 89% 12k $128k (exactly $127,594) Woolly Walrus Games
Archons $9.99 406 92% 12k $122k (exactly $121,678) BulletHell Studios
The Land Beneath Us older $14.99 230 79% 6.9k $103k (exactly $103,431) FairPlay Studios
Rhythm Witch: Beat Death $5.99 508 94% 15k $91k (exactly $91,288) Dusklight CO., LTD.
ONE BTN BOSSES older $11.99 165 87% 5.0k $59k (exactly $59,350) Midnight Munchies
Beat Slayer older $19.99 80 88% 2.4k $48k (exactly $47,976) ByteRockers' Games
CYBERMATRIX $12.00 127 89% 3.8k $46k (exactly $45,720) Tim Murich
Kill The Music $9.99 106 96% 3.2k $32k (exactly $31,768) Nikko Nikko
Rhythm Storm $9.99 86 91% 2.6k $26k (exactly $25,774) Radiangames
Soulbound Roguelike $9.99 34 82% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) DuDu Games
Keytamine $7.99 38 81% 1.1k $9.1k (exactly $9,109) Nabokov
KILLBEAT $9.99 24 100% 720 $7.2k (exactly $7,193) Kalma Games
Coinsweeper $4.99 43 86% 1.3k $6.4k (exactly $6,437) Duo Forge Games

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