Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Mystery Dungeon

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Mystery Dungeon?

Combat + Mystery Dungeon

Of 54 developers who shipped a Combat Mystery Dungeon 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.. 96 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 $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×364 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 96 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 96 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Mystery Dungeon
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 54
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $1.1k → $1.0k → $0 → $1.1k → $719 (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Mystery Dungeon: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 54
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $4.3k (exactly $4,316)
Top 5% $229k (exactly $228,742)
Developers, 2 yr 54
Released games 141
Announced 96
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.49

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 80% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Mystery Dungeon
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat, Mystery Dungeon; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Dungeon Crawler
Price point
$7.49 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.49.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 6,043 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $720, 1 in 4 over $4.3k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. Nearly all of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 96 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Combat with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy 2026 · $5.3M Boyfriend Dungeon 2021 · $1.3M The Fall of the Dungeon Guardians - Enhanced Edition 2015 · $375k EXD - Extra Dimensional 2026 · $284k Strikey Sisters 2017 · $235k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy $49.99 3,558 92% 107k $5.3M (exactly $5,335,933) Asobo Studio
Boyfriend Dungeon older $19.99 2,105 91% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,262,368) Kitfox Games
The Fall of the Dungeon Guardians - Enhanced Edition older $19.99 625 83% 19k $375k (exactly $374,812) Mana Games
EXD - Extra Dimensional $29.99 316 82% 9.5k $284k (exactly $284,305) Lords of Illusion
Strikey Sisters older $9.99 785 90% 24k $235k (exactly $235,264) DYA Games
TRADESMAN: Deal to Dealer $4.99 1,528 78% 46k $229k (exactly $228,742) AZAMATIKA
Diggles: The Myth of Fenris older $9.99 619 89% 19k $186k (exactly $185,514) Spieleentwicklungskombinat GmbH, Genera… (Spieleentwicklungskombinat GmbH, General Arcade)
Monsters Domain older $19.99 272 34% 8.2k $163k (exactly $163,118) G-DEVS.com
The Crazy Hyper-Dungeon Chronicles $9.99 233 78% 7.0k $70k (exactly $69,830) Fix-a-Bug
Paper Animal Adventure · EA $14.99 139 95% 4.2k $63k (exactly $62,508) Cuddling Raccoons Studio
The Succubus Trap Island $13.99 59 84% 1.8k $25k (exactly $24,762) Tsukinomizu Project
The Maze Survivor: The 9th Entrants $8.99 62 82% 1.9k $17k (exactly $16,721) 崔资坦独立游戏Triztan IndieGame
Everfall 2: Idle Dungeon RPG $9.99 42 76% 1.3k $13k (exactly $12,587) GameDevJoey
Heroes Against Time $7.49 53 94% 1.6k $12k (exactly $11,909) David Vinokurov
Holy Shot $5.99 53 84% 1.6k $9.5k (exactly $9,524) LoneWolf Digital Arts

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