Do I ship it?

GamesBoss RushBoss Rush + Dark Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Boss Rush game?

Boss Rush + Dark Fantasy

Only 17 developers shipped a Dark-Fantasy Boss Rush game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Rubinite, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 30 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $2.1M, ×3425 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 30 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 30 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Boss Rush + Dark Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $412k → $6.7k → $0 (still earning) → $135k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Boss Rush + Dark Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,559)
Top 25% $6.7k (exactly $6,742)
Top 5% $2.2M (exactly $2,151,124)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 29
Announced 30
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 55% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Boss Rush
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Dark Fantasy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Boss Rush; all of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Souls-like
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Difficult, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 6,465 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $6.7k, 1 in 20 over $2.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RPGFair20 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  2. + Action RoguelikeFair20 devs · median $1.6k · 19 announced
  3. + Sci-fiFair17 devs · median $839 · 16 announced
  4. + ShooterFair16 devs · median $537 · 20 announced
  5. + Bullet HellFair27 devs · median $479 · 31 announced
  6. + Action-AdventurePoor odds20 devs · median $3.7k · 42 announced
  7. + Hack and SlashPoor odds13 devs · median $3.5k · 39 announced
  8. + CombatPoor odds49 devs · median $1.6k · 79 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds21 devs · median $1.6k · 44 announced
  10. + Action RPGPoor odds16 devs · median $1.6k · 32 announced
  11. + RoguelitePoor odds16 devs · median $1.6k · 21 announced
  12. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds12 devs · median $1.6k · 21 announced

All 20 pairs on the Boss Rush page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Rubinite $19.99 3,587 94% 108k $2.2M (exactly $2,151,124) Cup Dog Games, GameWorks Ventures
Eldest Souls older $19.99 3,125 76% 94k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,062) Fallen Flag Studio
Dinoblade $19.99 2,420 90% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,451,274) Team Spino LLC
NanoApostle older $19.99 1,184 95% 36k $710k (exactly $710,045) 18Light Game Ltd.
Perennial Order older $19.99 687 93% 21k $412k (exactly $411,994) Gardenfiend Games
Gurei $15.99 281 83% 8.4k $135k (exactly $134,796) Lobo Sagaz studio
ABYSSAL BLADE $4.99 92 96% 2.8k $14k (exactly $13,772) Vifer Games
Raindancer older $0.99 286 87% 8.6k $8.5k (exactly $8,494) Strange Creatures Studio LLC
Scarlet City of Devils $8.99 25 88% 750 $6.7k (exactly $6,742) Shademare
Virus Rush + Hazard of the Ages $11.99 13 100% 390 $4.7k (exactly $4,676) STRANGER
Spirited Line $4.99 26 92% 780 $3.9k (exactly $3,892) Eazy Wizard
Clearing Blade · EA $8.99 13 92% 390 $3.5k (exactly $3,506) Devdepot
BROKEN SOUL : Boss Rush $12.99 4 75% 120 $1.6k (exactly $1,559) DoubleJLabs
Dragon Knight $9.99 4 75% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) MachNone

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