Do I ship it?

GamesRogueliteRoguelite + Animals

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Animal Roguelite?

Roguelite + Animals

Of 32 developers who shipped an Animal Roguelite 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.. 73 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×7.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $630; 1 in 20 cleared $680k, ×1442 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 73 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 73 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelite + Animals
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $4.7k (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelite + Animals: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $628 (exactly $628)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,591)
Top 25% $27k (exactly $27,471)
Top 5% $685k (exactly $684,893)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 36
Announced 73
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $9.99

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 up 20% on the market, supply 335% 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Roguelite
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Animals
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Roguelite; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Action Roguelike, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 9,810 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $680k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-TimeFair11 devs · median $11k · 14 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair24 devs · median $9.3k · 28 announced
  3. + VampiresFair60 devs · median $4.8k · 62 announced
  4. + TypingFair29 devs · median $2.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Grand StrategyFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  6. + IdlerFair166 devs · median $1.5k · 235 announced
  7. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.3k · 22 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair23 devs · median $1.1k · 23 announced
  9. + Score AttackFair344 devs · median $719 · 450 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair94 devs · median $600 · 121 announced
  11. + LogicFair144 devs · median $599 · 143 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds21 devs · median $74k · 24 announced

All 229 pairs on the Roguelite page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Everything is Crab: The Animal Evolution Roguelite $9.99 6,876 76% 206k $2.1M (exactly $2,060,737) Odd Dreams Digital
Omelet You Cook $14.99 1,523 97% 46k $685k (exactly $684,893) Dan Schumacher, Hjalte Tagmose
Zoominoes $14.99 549 91% 16k $247k (exactly $246,885) Starlight Games inc.
Maze Mice $9.99 315 88% 9.5k $94k (exactly $94,406) TrampolineTales
Nimbit Frontier · EA $13.99 113 97% 3.4k $47k (exactly $47,426) Megasploot
Exark $14.99 99 73% 3.0k $45k (exactly $44,520) Robot Cat Limited
Wildkeepers Rising $9.99 110 79% 3.3k $33k (exactly $32,967) Lioncode Games
Slot or Not $6.99 131 89% 3.9k $27k (exactly $27,471) MakoTeam
Pigeons Attack older $4.99 154 90% 4.6k $23k (exactly $23,054) Nixtor Game Studio
Isekat: Crushed by a Computer, My Beloved Kitten is Transported to a Fantasy World where its Typing Skills Save the Kingdom! $9.99 50 92% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) InSpite
Heritage $9.99 44 72% 1.3k $13k (exactly $13,187) Big Three Games

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