Do I ship it?

GamesAction RoguelikeAction Roguelike + Steampunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Steampunk Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Steampunk

Of 26 developers who shipped a Steampunk 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.. 43 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.7k, ×7.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×262 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 43 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 43 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Steampunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $180 → $7.8k → $29k → $29k → $6.3k → $4.8k (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Steampunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $4.7k (exactly $4,676)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $20,679)
Top 5% $164k (exactly $164,318)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 57
Announced 43
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 65% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Steampunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action Roguelike; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Action, Roguelite
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 6,095 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $4.7k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action Roguelike with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Abyssus $24.99 5,014 84% 150k $3.8M (exactly $3,758,996) DoubleMoose Games
Little Noah: Scion of Paradise older $14.99 2,172 92% 65k $977k (exactly $976,748) Cygames, Inc., Grounding Inc.
Marfusha:Sentinel Girls older $7.99 3,116 93% 93k $747k (exactly $746,905) hinyari9
Gunbrella older $14.99 920 85% 28k $414k (exactly $413,724) doinksoft
Swarm Grinder older $7.99 1,163 76% 35k $279k (exactly $278,771) Last Bite Games
The Swindle older $14.99 502 64% 15k $226k (exactly $225,749) Size Five Games
BORE BLASTERS older $9.99 709 80% 21k $212k (exactly $212,487) 8BitSkull
EVERSLAUGHT · EA older $19.99 336 61% 10k $201k (exactly $201,499) MobX GmbH
Grit and Valor - 1949 $19.99 274 75% 8.2k $164k (exactly $164,318) Milky Tea Studios
Airships: Lost Flotilla $8.99 290 92% 8.7k $78k (exactly $78,213) David Stark
Slyders $9.99 162 85% 4.9k $49k (exactly $48,551) Kato Games
The Last Citadel $14.99 70 85% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,479) Honest Demon
Driveloop: Survivors · EA $9.99 96 76% 2.9k $29k (exactly $28,771) Stunbyte
Machine Tower 2984 $9.99 69 86% 2.1k $21k (exactly $20,679) 打螺丝游戏工作室
Hell Survivors · EA $7.99 38 55% 1.1k $9.1k (exactly $9,109) Aerilon
Luminaria: Dark Echoes $9.99 30 86% 900 $9.0k (exactly $8,991) Enthariel Games
Dark Reaper Shoots! 2 $5.31 52 69% 1.6k $8.3k (exactly $8,284) SummerTimeStudio

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