Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Artificial Intelligence

Of 29 developers who shipped an AI 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.. 38 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×4.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $90. Revenue is up 1625% on the market; 38 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 1625% on the market, 38 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $359 → $748 → $119 → $72k (still earning) → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,336)
Top 25% $23k (exactly $23,380)
Top 5% $122k (exactly $122,247)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 60
Announced 38
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 1625% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Artificial Intelligence
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Strategy
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
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 77% positive over 2,229 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + Local Co-OpFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 60 announced
  5. + ZombiesFair65 devs · median $1.0k · 74 announced
  6. + Word GameFair12 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  7. + ThrillerFair45 devs · median $716 · 46 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair59 devs · median $479 · 62 announced
  9. + Score AttackFair29 devs · median $479 · 33 announced
  10. + MMORPGPoor odds10 devs · median $144k · 80 announced
  11. + DwarvesPoor odds8 devs · median $55k · 30 announced
  12. + Dating SimPoor odds17 devs · median $32k · 42 announced

All 175 pairs on the Dungeon Crawler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Backpack Jianghu 2026 · $237k Net.Attack() - Code or Die! 2026 · $122k Twilight Wars 2025 · $103k Dino Ramen Express 2026 · EA · $72k Lewd Dungeon Manager 🔞 2026 · $63k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Backpack Jianghu $13.99 565 80% 17k $237k (exactly $237,130) 背包工作室
Net.Attack() - Code or Die! $7.99 510 80% 15k $122k (exactly $122,247) ByteRockers' Games
Twilight Wars $14.99 229 74% 6.9k $103k (exactly $102,981) Comrade Bear Games
Dino Ramen Express · EA $14.99 160 72% 4.8k $72k (exactly $71,952) ANTIGames
Lewd Dungeon Manager 🔞 $14.99 139 66% 4.2k $63k (exactly $62,508) Lewd Star
Tap Dungeon $4.99 334 81% 10k $50k (exactly $50,000) Xiao5 Studios
I'm Not Sex King $10.99 147 76% 4.4k $48k (exactly $48,466) Sex King
The Backrooms · EA older $9.99 119 62% 3.6k $36k (exactly $35,664) Ionized Games
Until Chloe, the New Wife, Falls $11.99 65 63% 2.0k $23k (exactly $23,380) StudioVR
Dungeon Desire: The Sleepless City of Runeheim $13.99 54 72% 1.6k $23k (exactly $22,664) StudioVR
The Traveller Tale $19.99 26 69% 780 $16k (exactly $15,592) Mystic Dream Studio's

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