Do I ship it?

Games › Class-Based › Class-Based + Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roguelike Class-Based game?

Class-Based + Roguelike

Of 152 developers who shipped a Roguelike Class-Based game 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.. 286 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×170 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 286 games are announced against 97 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 286 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Class-Based + Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 152
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.3k → $9.0k → $1.8k → $13k → $2.9k → $2.9k → $2.4k (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Class-Based + Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 152
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,096)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,874)
Top 5% $255k (exactly $255,344)
Developers, 2 yr 152
Released games 301
Announced 286
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 down 50% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Class-Based
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Roguelike
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Class-Based, Roguelike; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, RPG, Action Roguelike
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 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 22,919 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 $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 59 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 286 games are announced against 97 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Class-Based with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + AutomationFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  2. + Bullet HeavenFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 38 announced
  3. + SupernaturalLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  4. + 2D PlatformerLong shot26 devs · median $539 · 30 announced
  5. + FPSPoor odds22 devs · median $70k · 70 announced
  6. + MMORPGPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  7. + Base BuildingPoor odds18 devs · median $33k · 44 announced
  8. + WarPoor odds17 devs · median $32k · 59 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds16 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds17 devs · median $13k · 42 announced
  11. + Third-Person ShooterPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  12. + WargamePoor odds14 devs · median $9.4k · 28 announced

All 111 pairs on the Class-Based page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Risk of Rain Returns 2023 · $11M Rabbit and Steel 2024 · $4.6M Heroes of Hammerwatch II 2025 · $3.5M Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel 2025 · $3.3M Tower Dominion 2025 · $2.7M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Risk of Rain Returns older $14.99 24,795 89% 744k $11M (exactly $11,150,312) Hopoo Games
Rabbit and Steel older $14.99 10,159 96% 305k $4.6M (exactly $4,568,502) mino_dev
Heroes of Hammerwatch II $19.99 5,806 82% 174k $3.5M (exactly $3,481,858) Crackshell
Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel $14.99 7,318 82% 220k $3.3M (exactly $3,290,905) Games Farm, ARTillery
Tower Dominion $17.49 5,117 85% 154k $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) Parallel 45 Games
SYNTHETIK 2 · EA older $19.99 3,202 81% 96k $1.9M (exactly $1,920,239) Flow Fire Games
Vagante older $14.99 4,118 90% 124k $1.9M (exactly $1,851,865) Nuke Nine
Dice & Fold older $12.99 3,491 83% 105k $1.4M (exactly $1,360,443) Tinymice Entertainment
Immortal Redneck older $19.95 2,211 90% 66k $1.3M (exactly $1,323,284) Crema
Goblin Stone older $24.99 735 52% 22k $551k (exactly $551,030) Orc Chop Games
Heretical · EA $14.99 933 84% 28k $420k (exactly $419,570) Three Swords Studio
Roboquest VR $29.99 395 87% 12k $355k (exactly $355,382) Flat2VR Studios, RyseUp Studios
Shadowveil: Legend of The Five Rings $24.99 469 74% 14k $352k (exactly $351,609) Palindrome Interactive
Serpent's Gaze · EA $14.99 737 88% 22k $331k (exactly $331,429) Feeble Minds
Nomad Idle $9.99 852 64% 26k $255k (exactly $255,344) The Fox Knocks
Cube Chaos $11.99 621 95% 19k $223k (exactly $223,374) Wunarg
Legionbound $9.99 671 83% 20k $201k (exactly $201,099) Spicy Garlic Games

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