Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Runner

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Runner Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Runner

Of 38 developers who shipped a Runner 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.. 51 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 25 developers shipped in the last year and 51 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 51 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Runner
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: $449 → $475 → $150 → $419 → $180 → $955 → $60 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Runner: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $180 (exactly $180)
Top 25% $2.5k (exactly $2,470)
Top 5% $421k (exactly $420,876)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 106
Announced 51
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 40% on the market, supply 80% more 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
Runner
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, Runner; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 3D Platformer, Action-Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Fast-Paced
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 14,132 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 $180, 1 in 4 over $2.4k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 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

Haste 2025 · $7.6M Phantom Abyss 2024 · $1.2M ALTF4 2021 · $848k ODDCORE 2026 · EA · $421k Trip to Vinelands 2016 · $235k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Haste $19.99 12,690 92% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,610,193) Landfall
Phantom Abyss older $19.99 1,962 81% 59k $1.2M (exactly $1,176,611) Team WIBY
ALTF4 older $2.99 9,452 80% 284k $848k (exactly $847,844) PUMPKIM
ODDCORE · EA $12.99 1,080 96% 32k $421k (exactly $420,876) ODDCORP
Trip to Vinelands older $4.99 1,572 85% 47k $235k (exactly $235,328) Walter Machado
I Hate Running Backwards older $14.99 188 71% 5.6k $85k (exactly $84,544) Binx Games, Croteam Incubator, Croteam
Switchcars older $8.99 164 90% 4.9k $44k (exactly $44,231) Altfuture
BEERCRUSH $4.99 206 100% 6.2k $31k (exactly $30,838) LOWLIGHT
SCHROTT: Roguelike Racer · EA $12.99 49 91% 1.5k $19k (exactly $19,095) Ivy Juice
SpeedOverflow older $4.99 116 72% 3.5k $17k (exactly $17,365) 狼烟
Derby Heroines: Run, Bet, Win! $14.99 17 94% 510 $7.6k (exactly $7,645) SHINISE GAMES, MFC STUDIO
Prison Escape Simulator $9.99 18 77% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) PEGAX Studios
Super Miners · EA $9.99 13 92% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) METAGAR
Dino-Ducks Dash $2.99 30 96% 900 $2.7k (exactly $2,691) Duckosaurus Games
Nullwake $5.99 14 78% 420 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) DIG Games
Go Ahead $5.49 15 86% 450 $2.5k (exactly $2,470) Broken Project

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