Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Aliens

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alien Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Aliens

Of 20 developers who shipped an Alien Dungeon Crawler 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.. 45 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×583 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 45 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 45 announced, ×4.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Aliens
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $2.7k → $1.2k → $4.8k → $1.2k → $2.7k → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Aliens: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $21,599)
Top 5% $277k (exactly $276,982)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 58
Announced 45
Effort 4 / 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 80% on the market, supply as many developers as 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.

Dungeon Crawler
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Aliens
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Dungeon Crawler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 2,630 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 $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Dungeon Crawler with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Time ManagementFair35 devs · median $7.0k · 44 announced
  2. + GamblingFair16 devs · median $7.0k · 17 announced
  3. + DiceFair24 devs · median $5.1k · 32 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair29 devs · median $2.3k · 38 announced
  5. + Local Co-OpFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 60 announced
  6. + ZombiesFair65 devs · median $1.0k · 74 announced
  7. + Word GameFair12 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  8. + ThrillerFair45 devs · median $716 · 46 announced
  9. + Walking SimulatorFair59 devs · median $479 · 62 announced
  10. + Score AttackFair29 devs · median $479 · 33 announced
  11. + MMORPGPoor odds10 devs · median $144k · 80 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds8 devs · median $55k · 30 announced

All 175 pairs on the Dungeon Crawler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Lethal Company 2023 · EA · $123M Sword of the Stars: The Pit 2013 · $339k Sketchy's Contract 2026 · $277k LIFE EFFECT Survival 2026 · EA · $219k Planet Lust 2026 · $151k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lethal Company · EA older $9.99 411,550 97% 12M $123M (exactly $123,341,535) Zeekerss
Sword of the Stars: The Pit older $9.99 1,132 83% 34k $339k (exactly $339,260) Kerberos Productions
Sketchy's Contract $8.99 1,027 83% 31k $277k (exactly $276,982) Dimensionless Games
LIFE EFFECT Survival · EA $14.99 488 85% 15k $219k (exactly $219,454) LIFE EFFECT
Planet Lust $14.99 335 76% 10k $151k (exactly $150,650) Skullgear
Dreadhunter · EA older $24.99 141 77% 4.2k $106k (exactly $105,708) Trickster Arts
VoidBound · EA older $19.99 85 91% 2.6k $51k (exactly $50,974) CursedAtelier
Swordbreaker The Game older $4.99 274 82% 8.2k $41k (exactly $41,018) DuCats Games Studio
SKIBIDI GYATROOMS $1.99 626 80% 19k $37k (exactly $37,372) FoodWithoutTaste, Shinok
Star Explorers older $4.99 245 82% 7.4k $37k (exactly $36,676) Schmidt Workshops
Bunker Invaders · EA $6.99 103 82% 3.1k $22k (exactly $21,599) Kelecik
Engine Eternal $9.99 15 93% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Absolutely Cookage
Goddess Scroll - The Last Starlight $9.99 11 27% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Revenge Red Eyes
Ark of Trisolar (三体方舟) $6.99 13 92% 390 $2.7k (exactly $2,726) Binary Studio
Asterogue $5.99 8 100% 240 $1.4k (exactly $1,438) Chris McCormick
VAGRIENT $9.99 4 100% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) Andrew "VAGRIENT" Bray

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