Do I ship it?

GamesSpectacle fighterSpectacle fighter + Action Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Action Roguelike Spectacle fighter?

Spectacle fighter + Action Roguelike

Of 41 developers who shipped an Action Roguelike Spectacle fighter 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.. 69 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $540k, ×361 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 69 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 69 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Spectacle fighter + Action Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 41
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $13k → $2.2k → $1.4k → $748 → $70k → $1.9k → $2.2k (still earning) → $11k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Spectacle fighter + Action Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 41
Bottom 30% $897 (exactly $897)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,098)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $21,824)
Top 5% $541k (exactly $541,215)
Developers, 2 yr 41
Released games 97
Announced 69
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 15% on the market, supply 115% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Spectacle fighter
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Action Roguelike
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Spectacle fighter, Action Roguelike; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Hack and Slash, Roguelite
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Difficult, Fast-Paced
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 6,520 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $540k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 69 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Spectacle fighter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Score AttackFair31 devs · median $4.3k · 29 announced
  2. + HorrorFair14 devs · median $3.7k · 16 announced
  3. + LootPoor odds9 devs · median $65k · 11 announced
  4. + Character Action GamePoor odds22 devs · median $58k · 44 announced
  5. + Survival HorrorPoor odds8 devs · median $52k · 12 announced
  6. + HistoricalPoor odds16 devs · median $33k · 17 announced
  7. + Sci-fiPoor odds48 devs · median $17k · 82 announced
  8. + RobotsPoor odds15 devs · median $16k · 35 announced
  9. + MythologyPoor odds16 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  10. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds45 devs · median $7.2k · 86 announced
  11. + FightingPoor odds25 devs · median $7.2k · 40 announced
  12. + Hack and SlashPoor odds77 devs · median $6.7k · 142 announced

All 99 pairs on the Spectacle fighter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Morbid Metal · EA $17.99 1,555 81% 47k $839k (exactly $839,233) SCREEN JUICE
Metal Bringer $19.99 1,109 87% 33k $665k (exactly $665,067) ALPHAWING Inc.
Rustil: Eternal Labyrinth Castle $18.99 950 71% 29k $541k (exactly $541,215) KTMG LLC.
GODBREAKERS $19.99 813 70% 24k $488k (exactly $487,556) To The Sky
Samurai Bringer older $9.99 1,012 87% 30k $303k (exactly $303,296) ALPHAWING Inc.
Heart&Slash older $14.99 519 81% 16k $233k (exactly $233,394) AHEARTFULOFGAMES
Flash Doll $8.99 859 80% 26k $232k (exactly $231,672) Game Star
Shing! older $19.99 334 79% 10k $200k (exactly $200,300) Mass Creation
Ultra Age older $24.99 262 80% 7.9k $196k (exactly $196,421) Next Stage Inc., Visual DART Co., Ltd
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising older $29.99 211 72% 6.3k $190k (exactly $189,837) LANCARSE
Poetry of Blood: Eclipse · EA $14.99 406 91% 12k $183k (exactly $182,578) ZeroGameStudio
Voidborn $12.99 349 81% 10k $136k (exactly $136,005) Xekvera
Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 $39.99 88 82% 2.6k $106k (exactly $105,574) AQUAPLUS
Hordes of Hunger $14.99 230 72% 6.9k $103k (exactly $103,431) Hyperstrange
Blood Rush · EA $14.49 161 98% 4.8k $70k (exactly $69,987) MaxEstLa

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