Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Underwater
Should I ship an Underwater Action Roguelike?
Action Roguelike + Underwater
Of 26 developers who shipped an Underwater 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.. 34 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $580k, ×930 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 34 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $2.3k (exactly $2,336) |
| Top 5% | $584k (exactly $584,108) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 39 |
| Announced | 34 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 60% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Underwater
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Action Roguelike; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Roguelite, Action
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Difficult
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 6,307 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action Roguelike with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomanceStrong odds
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + SportsFair
- + Boss RushFair
- + VampiresFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DogsFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + FaithFair
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
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 | |
| | Primordialis | · EA | $19.99 | 974 93% | 29k | $584k (exactly $584,108) | Kyler Natividad, Keith Sammut |
| | Octogeddon | older | $8.88 | 1,298 92% | 39k | $346k (exactly $345,787) | All Yes Good |
| | Sipho | older | $17.99 | 339 83% | 10k | $183k (exactly $182,958) | All Parts Connected |
| | Port of Jumanah | $11.99 | 145 100% | 4.4k | $52k (exactly $52,156) | Red Dunes Games, Agate | |
| | Dive The Depths | $9.99 | 87 72% | 2.6k | $26k (exactly $26,074) | Frizuo, Starpixel Studios | |
| | Swirl W@tch | older | $14.99 | 54 98% | 1.6k | $24k (exactly $24,284) | Sleeper Games |
| | ASTRONAUTILUS | older | $9.99 | 50 94% | 1.5k | $15k (exactly $14,985) | neozoid.games |
| | Fishing Mega-Game | $4.99 | 29 89% | 870 | $4.3k (exactly $4,341) | Peep | |
| | Pirates: Rogue's Fortune | · EA | $12.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.9k (exactly $3,897) | NINPO Game Studio |
| | Super Chaos | $5.99 | 13 92% | 390 | $2.3k (exactly $2,336) | Anodaxia | |
| | SALTWATER | $3.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $1.7k (exactly $1,676) | Lean Hog, shinyvictorcarp | |
| | Squidly's Revenge | $4.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) | Howling Wolf Games | |
| | Fish Slayer | $3.99 | 11 100% | 330 | $1.3k (exactly $1,317) | easymemo(悬厘), deathywings |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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