Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Western

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Western Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Western

Of 26 developers who shipped a Western 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.. 36 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×4.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $88k, ×141 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 36 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 36 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Western
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: $14k → $2.3k → $3.1k → $89k → $4.2k → $1.0k (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Western: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,545)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,389)
Top 5% $89k (exactly $88,591)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 51
Announced 36
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 55% on the market, supply 15% 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
Western
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelike, Action-Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 69% positive over 1,278 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 $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $88k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 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

West of Dead 2020 · $773k Colt Canyon 2020 · $694k Wild Bastards 2024 · $647k Bounty of One 2023 · $576k Soulslinger: Envoy of Death 2025 · $283k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
West of Dead older $19.99 1,289 76% 39k $773k (exactly $773,013) Upstream Arcade
Colt Canyon older $14.99 1,543 90% 46k $694k (exactly $693,887) Retrific
Wild Bastards older $34.99 616 74% 18k $647k (exactly $646,615) Blue Manchu
Bounty of One older $6.99 2,749 88% 82k $576k (exactly $576,465) OptizOnion
Soulslinger: Envoy of Death $19.99 472 63% 14k $283k (exactly $283,058) Elder Games
Super Amazing Wagon Adventure older $2.99 1,638 95% 49k $147k (exactly $146,929) sparsevector
Dust & Neon older $14.99 284 76% 8.5k $128k (exactly $127,715) David Marquardt Studios
Dino Path Trail $14.99 197 76% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) Void Pointer
Deadrock Redemption 2 $14.99 123 86% 3.7k $55k (exactly $55,313) Entropy Digital Entertainment
Graveyard Gunslingers $7.99 224 58% 6.7k $54k (exactly $53,693) PyroPhysics
Frontier Legends · EA $29.99 57 40% 1.7k $51k (exactly $51,283) Neojac Entertainment Inc.
Cowboy 3030 $14.99 96 87% 2.9k $43k (exactly $43,171) Soy Boy Games
Deadrock Salvation $9.99 38 86% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) Ghost Machine
Undead West $7.99 35 82% 1.1k $8.4k (exactly $8,390) Deathless Games
Rhyolite $9.99 21 100% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) Long Lost
Cordels & Spells $9.99 15 86% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Supernova Games

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