Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Arcade

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Arcade Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Arcade

Of 138 developers who shipped an Arcade 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.. 181 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×454 the market median. Revenue is up 250% on the market; 181 games are announced against 79 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 250% on the market, 181 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Arcade
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 138
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $3.0k → $2.9k → $750 → $239 → $1.0k → $1.3k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Arcade: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 138
Bottom 30% $208 (exactly $208)
Median $750 (exactly $750)
Top 25% $6.1k (exactly $6,110)
Top 5% $215k (exactly $215,484)
Developers, 2 yr 138
Released games 424
Announced 181
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 250% on the market, supply 30% 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.

Dungeon Crawler
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Arcade
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
Dungeon Crawler, Arcade; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Roguelite, Action
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 14,964 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $750, 1 in 4 over $6.1k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 70 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 181 games are announced against 79 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Dungeon Crawler with a different second tag, 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

Minecraft Dungeons 2021 · $11M Gauntlet™ Slayer Edition 2014 · $4.0M Crawl 2017 · $2.5M Dungeon Clawler 2026 · $1.7M How Many Dudes? 2026 · $1.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Minecraft Dungeons older $19.99 17,941 90% 538k $11M (exactly $10,759,218) Mojang Studios, ‪Double Eleven
Gauntlet™ Slayer Edition older $19.99 6,690 81% 201k $4.0M (exactly $4,011,993) Arrowhead Game Studios
Crawl older $14.99 5,625 95% 169k $2.5M (exactly $2,529,562) Powerhoof
Dungeon Clawler $14.99 3,716 88% 111k $1.7M (exactly $1,671,085) Stray Fawn Studio
How Many Dudes? $14.99 2,948 89% 88k $1.3M (exactly $1,325,716) Butterscotch Shenanigans
Ziggurat older $14.99 2,835 86% 85k $1.3M (exactly $1,274,900) Milkstone Studios
Exit the Gungeon older $9.99 3,400 74% 102k $1.0M (exactly $1,018,980) Dodge Roll, Singlecore
Goblin Cleanup · EA $19.99 1,615 87% 48k $969k (exactly $968,515) Crisalu Games
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising older $14.99 2,075 85% 62k $933k (exactly $933,128) NatsumeAtari
Patch Quest older $14.99 2,058 94% 62k $925k (exactly $925,483) Lychee Game Labs
Dwarven Realms $9.99 2,850 81% 86k $854k (exactly $854,145) Crater Studios
Skull Horde $12.99 1,083 81% 32k $422k (exactly $422,045) 8BitSkull
Dice A Million $12.99 1,075 90% 32k $419k (exactly $418,928) countlessnights
The Bleakest Keep $9.99 719 90% 22k $215k (exactly $215,484) Cache of Bones
Starlight Revolver · EA $12.99 404 54% 12k $157k (exactly $157,439) Pahdo Labs
MagicShop2 $15.99 242 88% 7.3k $116k (exactly $116,087) FireArmGames
Hand of Fate: Hordes · EA $11.99 312 79% 9.4k $112k (exactly $112,226) Spitfire Interactive

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