Do I ship it?

Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Roguelike?

Roguelike + Artificial Intelligence

Of 60 developers who shipped an AI 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.. 85 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is up 405% on the market; 85 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 405% on the market, 85 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelike + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 60
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.0k → $598 → $479 → $898 → $1.8k → $300 → $2.5k (still earning) → $4.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelike + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 60
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,797)
Top 25% $23k (exactly $22,664)
Top 5% $167k (exactly $166,839)
Developers, 2 yr 60
Released games 119
Announced 85
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $7.99

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 405% on the market, supply 175% 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Roguelike
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Roguelike; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Strategy, RPG
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 5,683 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 $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $22k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 85 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + JRPGFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  2. + 6DOFFair15 devs · median $4.7k · 7 announced
  3. + Grand StrategyFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  4. + VampiresFair59 devs · median $3.1k · 58 announced
  5. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.9k · 17 announced
  6. + SuperheroFair12 devs · median $1.1k · 17 announced
  7. + IdlerFair160 devs · median $1.0k · 206 announced
  8. + ArcadeFair841 devs · median $959 · 1,066 announced
  9. + Walking SimulatorFair29 devs · median $718 · 28 announced
  10. + 2D PlatformerFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  11. + Traditional RoguelikeFair247 devs · median $599 · 314 announced
  12. + LogicFair141 devs · median $599 · 168 announced

All 231 pairs on the Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Morbid Metal 2026 · EA · $839k AI Roguelite 2023 · $268k Timber Rush 2026 · $223k Mind 2022 · $201k Feed the Scorchpot 2026 · $167k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Morbid Metal · EA $17.99 1,555 81% 47k $839k (exactly $839,233) SCREEN JUICE
AI Roguelite older $14.99 597 83% 18k $268k (exactly $268,471) Max Loh
Timber Rush $4.99 1,490 84% 45k $223k (exactly $223,053) Allerton Apps
Mind older $17.99 372 69% 11k $201k (exactly $200,768) WHIRLLAXY LIMITED
Feed the Scorchpot $14.99 371 87% 11k $167k (exactly $166,839) Moravian
MOTHERGUNSHIP: FORGE older $19.99 253 93% 7.6k $152k (exactly $151,724) Terrible Posture Games
Eternal Afternoon $8.99 446 95% 13k $120k (exactly $120,286) Alex Klexber
Pandora's Toybox $9.99 372 83% 11k $111k (exactly $111,488) BetaLab
Twilight Wars $14.99 229 74% 6.9k $103k (exactly $102,981) Comrade Bear Games
Sweet Surrender VR older $24.99 131 84% 3.9k $98k (exactly $98,211) Salmi Games
Backpack Dungeon $3.99 656 87% 20k $79k (exactly $78,523) 夜喵
Dungeon Brawls $9.99 226 76% 6.8k $68k (exactly $67,732) Underground Cat
Breach Protocol $14.99 149 69% 4.5k $67k (exactly $67,005) Entropy Digital Entertainment
Survivor Girls Sanctuary $9.99 189 64% 5.7k $57k (exactly $56,643) Survival Strategy ！

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