Do I ship it?

Games › Roguelite › Roguelite + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist Roguelite?

Roguelite + Capitalism

Of 70 developers who shipped a Capitalist Roguelite 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.. 138 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×5.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $810; 1 in 20 cleared $600k, ×1271 the market median. Revenue is up 110% on the market; 138 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 110% on the market, 138 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelite + Capitalism
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 70
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.5k → $35k → $2.4k → $2.4k → $20k → $2.2k → $3.3k (still earning) → $2.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelite + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 70
Bottom 30% $807 (exactly $807)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,395)
Top 25% $29k (exactly $29,071)
Top 5% $604k (exactly $603,947)
Developers, 2 yr 70
Released games 115
Announced 138
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 110% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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.

Roguelite
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Capitalism
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Roguelite; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Simulation, Management
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.89 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.89 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 35,820 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $810, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $29k, 1 in 20 over $600k.

3 in 10 developers made under $810. 7 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 138 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-TimeFair11 devs · median $11k · 14 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair24 devs · median $9.3k · 28 announced
  3. + VampiresFair60 devs · median $4.8k · 62 announced
  4. + TypingFair29 devs · median $2.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Grand StrategyFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  6. + IdlerFair166 devs · median $1.5k · 235 announced
  7. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.3k · 22 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair23 devs · median $1.1k · 23 announced
  9. + Score AttackFair344 devs · median $719 · 450 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair94 devs · median $600 · 121 announced
  11. + LogicFair144 devs · median $599 · 143 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds21 devs · median $74k · 24 announced

All 229 pairs on the Roguelite page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Brigador: Up-Armored Edition 2016 · $3.4M Scritchy Scratchy 2026 · $3.2M Luck be a Landlord 2023 · $3.1M Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault 2026 · $2.8M Bills Must Be Paid 2026 · $2.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Brigador: Up-Armored Edition older $24.99 4,580 93% 137k $3.4M (exactly $3,433,626) Stellar Jockeys, Gausswerks
Scritchy Scratchy $6.99 15,245 94% 457k $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) Lunch Money Games
Luck be a Landlord older $9.99 10,213 93% 306k $3.1M (exactly $3,060,836) TrampolineTales
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault $29.99 3,146 80% 94k $2.8M (exactly $2,830,456) Digital Sun
Bills Must Be Paid $6.99 9,928 96% 298k $2.1M (exactly $2,081,902) Rike Games
Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers older $14.99 2,988 81% 90k $1.3M (exactly $1,343,704) Purple Moss Collectors
Coal LLC $14.99 1,343 92% 40k $604k (exactly $603,947) Bye Bye Ocean
Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator older $19.99 827 92% 25k $496k (exactly $495,952) Strange Scaffold
Astro Prospector $4.99 3,223 91% 97k $482k (exactly $482,483) Incrementalist
Galactic Mining Corp older $12.99 868 84% 26k $338k (exactly $338,260) Windybeard
Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator $19.99 513 91% 15k $308k (exactly $307,646) Strange Scaffold
Insider Trading $12.89 600 79% 18k $232k (exactly $232,020) Naiive
Hole Is Mine $7.99 741 90% 22k $178k (exactly $177,618) Incrementalist
Nonentity Galaxy $9.99 587 94% 18k $176k (exactly $175,924) Brick-Up Studio
Agrivore: Incremental Farming $6.99 494 70% 15k $104k (exactly $103,592) verty

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