Do I ship it?

GamesDungeon CrawlerDungeon Crawler + Bullet Hell

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Bullet Hell

Of 112 developers who shipped a Bullet Hell 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.. 232 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.4k, ×7.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×532 the market median. Revenue is up 135% on the market; 232 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 135% on the market, 232 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Bullet Hell
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 112
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.3k → $4.8k → $1.1k → $3.0k → $2.0k → $4.4k → $2.7k (still earning) → $3.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Bullet Hell: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 112
Bottom 30% $719 (exactly $719)
Median $3.4k (exactly $3,414)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $20,390)
Top 5% $253k (exactly $252,731)
Developers, 2 yr 112
Released games 301
Announced 232
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 135% on the market, supply 50% 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
Bullet Hell
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, Bullet Hell; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelike
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Top-Down
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 29,004 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $3.4k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 8 in 10 of the 49 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 232 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Enter the Gungeon older $14.99 79,392 95% 2.4M $36M (exactly $35,702,582) Dodge Roll
Neon Abyss older $31.49 19,709 86% 591k $19M (exactly $18,619,092) Veewo Games
Deadzone: Rogue $24.99 15,041 82% 451k $11M (exactly $11,276,238) Prophecy Games
The Binding of Isaac older $4.99 49,208 94% 1.5M $7.4M (exactly $7,366,438) Edmund McMillen, Florian Himsl
Heroes of Hammerwatch older $14.99 7,519 87% 226k $3.4M (exactly $3,381,294) Crackshell
Tiny Rogues · EA older $9.99 10,244 96% 307k $3.1M (exactly $3,070,127) RubyDev
Dungreed older $9.99 8,988 93% 270k $2.7M (exactly $2,693,704) TEAM HORAY
Dead Estate older $14.99 5,778 95% 173k $2.6M (exactly $2,598,367) Milkbar Lads
Killsquad older $29.99 2,839 71% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,554,248) Novarama
Star of Providence older $14.99 3,178 96% 95k $1.4M (exactly $1,429,147) Team D-13
Deadly Days: Roadtrip · EA $14.99 2,855 87% 86k $1.3M (exactly $1,283,894) Pixelsplit
Pathogenic $9.99 4,145 92% 124k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,256) Aberrant Labs
Relic Hunters Legend $19.99 1,101 65% 33k $660k (exactly $660,270) Rogue Snail
I Am Legion: Stand Survivors $8.99 2,432 82% 73k $656k (exactly $655,910) JA Game Studio
Soulbound: Online · EA $14.99 562 58% 17k $253k (exactly $252,731) SpiderWare
Seer's Gambit $14.99 490 76% 15k $220k (exactly $220,353) Unleash The Giraffe
Desktop Survivors 98 $4.99 1,338 94% 40k $200k (exactly $200,299) Brandon Hesslau
DunHero $8.99 530 89% 16k $143k (exactly $142,941) Dev Kacper
Net.Attack() - Code or Die! $7.99 510 80% 15k $122k (exactly $122,247) ByteRockers' Games

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