Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Traditional Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Traditional Roguelike Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Traditional Roguelike

Of 74 developers who shipped a Traditional Roguelike 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.. 98 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 49 developers shipped in the last year and 98 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 98 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Traditional Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 74
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $179 → $210 → $2.3k → $898 → $1.0k → $359 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Traditional Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 74
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,726)
Top 5% $24k (exactly $23,501)
Developers, 2 yr 74
Released games 120
Announced 98
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 down 45% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Traditional Roguelike
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, Traditional Roguelike; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelike, RPG
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 2,330 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 $450, 1 in 4 over $2.7k, 1 in 20 over $23k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 98 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die 2025 · $573k Fate Seeker: Journey 2022 · $332k Dredgers 2019 · $169k Trials Survivors 2026 · EA · $142k Reignbreaker 2025 · $133k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die $24.99 764 84% 23k $573k (exactly $572,771) Stormteller Games
Fate Seeker: Journey older $10.00 1,105 77% 33k $332k (exactly $331,500) JSL Entertainment
Dredgers older $11.99 471 88% 14k $169k (exactly $169,419) Pirate-Rob
Trials Survivors · EA $9.99 475 85% 14k $142k (exactly $142,358) Angry wisp
Reignbreaker $9.99 444 75% 13k $133k (exactly $133,067) Studio Fizbin
Silly Survivors $2.99 262 93% 7.9k $24k (exactly $23,501) DenaZ, SillyWorks
Gods Wars : infinity Epic $9.99 70 77% 2.1k $21k (exactly $20,979) YCGame
Senpai and the Mysterious Dungeon older $13.99 40 67% 1.2k $17k (exactly $16,788) Ruhut Soft
Warlords Battle Simulator $9.99 55 67% 1.7k $16k (exactly $16,484) RedKar Devs
Dark Bone Prison $5.99 84 95% 2.5k $15k (exactly $15,095) Bunny Moon Shady
Rangedrifter · EA $14.99 27 100% 810 $12k (exactly $12,142) Max Schmidt
KUNKUN League $2.99 123 98% 3.7k $11k (exactly $11,033) Seal
DeAnima $9.99 26 84% 780 $7.8k (exactly $7,792) Steelgaze Studio

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