Do I ship it?

Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Boss Rush

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Boss Rush Souls-like?

Souls-like + Boss Rush

Of 21 developers who shipped a Boss Rush Souls-like 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.. 44 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $1.4M, ×969 the market median. Revenue is up 1200% on the market; 44 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 1200% on the market, 44 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Boss Rush
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $4.7k → $6.7k → $419 (still earning) → $5.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Souls-like + Boss Rush: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,559)
Top 25% $7.0k (exactly $7,008)
Top 5% $1.5M (exactly $1,451,274)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 47
Announced 44
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 1200% on the market, supply 100% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Boss Rush
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like, Boss Rush; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Combat, Action, Action RPG
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Difficult, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 6,521 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $7.0k, 1 in 20 over $1.4M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  9. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  10. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Titan Souls 2015 · $3.6M Rubinite 2026 · $2.2M Eldest Souls 2021 · $1.9M Dinoblade 2026 · $1.5M Jotun: Valhalla Edition 2015 · $996k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Titan Souls older $14.99 8,002 82% 240k $3.6M (exactly $3,598,499) Acid Nerve
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
Jotun: Valhalla Edition older $14.99 2,215 77% 66k $996k (exactly $996,086) Thunder Lotus
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
ONE BTN BOSSES older $11.99 165 87% 5.0k $59k (exactly $59,350) Midnight Munchies
Dead older $4.99 257 91% 7.7k $38k (exactly $38,473) Alec Smith, Dane Winn
Bittersweet Birthday $17.99 26 92% 780 $14k (exactly $14,032) World Eater Games
ABYSSAL BLADE $4.99 92 96% 2.8k $14k (exactly $13,772) Vifer Games
Dustless $5.99 39 71% 1.2k $7.0k (exactly $7,008) 神刀之死
Scarlet City of Devils $8.99 25 88% 750 $6.7k (exactly $6,742) Shademare
Snack Invaders · EA $14.99 12 100% 360 $5.4k (exactly $5,396) Whippy Games
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

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