Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Traditional Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Traditional Roguelike?

Combat + Traditional Roguelike

Of 58 developers who shipped a Combat Traditional Roguelike 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.. 77 more are announced, ×2.0 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 $180; 1 in 20 cleared $58k, ×94 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 77 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 77 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Traditional Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 58
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.7k → $1.5k → $955 → $479 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Traditional Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 58
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $3.0k (exactly $2,997)
Top 5% $59k (exactly $58,926)
Developers, 2 yr 58
Released games 94
Announced 77
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 10% on the market, supply 90% 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Traditional 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat, Traditional Roguelike; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, RPG, Action
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.95 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.95 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 1,986 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $720, 1 in 4 over $2.9k, 1 in 20 over $58k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 77 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 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

Soulash 2 2023 · EA · $1.4M Lost in Random: The Eternal Die 2025 · $573k Fate Seeker: Journey 2022 · $332k Soulash 2022 · $231k Blazing Aries 2022 · $209k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Soulash 2 · EA older $18.99 2,382 85% 71k $1.4M (exactly $1,357,025) Artur Smiarowski
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die $24.99 764 84% 23k $573k (exactly $572,771) Stormteller Games
Fate Seeker: Journey older $10.00 1,105 77% 33k $332k (exactly $331,500) JSL Entertainment
Soulash older $14.99 513 69% 15k $231k (exactly $230,696) Artur Smiarowski
Blazing Aries older $18.99 366 87% 11k $209k (exactly $208,510) Kuroto Zakka
Rogue Empire: Dungeon Crawler RPG older $14.99 355 84% 11k $160k (exactly $159,644) Portal Entertainment
Reignbreaker $9.99 444 75% 13k $133k (exactly $133,067) Studio Fizbin
Cataclysm: The Last Generation $6.99 281 89% 8.4k $59k (exactly $58,926) Worm Girl
Zorbus older $4.99 364 90% 11k $54k (exactly $54,491) Zorbus
Silly Survivors $2.99 262 93% 7.9k $24k (exactly $23,501) DenaZ, SillyWorks
Warlords Battle Simulator $9.99 55 67% 1.7k $16k (exactly $16,484) RedKar Devs
Dark Bone Prison $5.99 84 95% 2.5k $15k (exactly $15,095) Bunny Moon Shady
DeAnima $9.99 26 84% 780 $7.8k (exactly $7,792) Steelgaze Studio
Alchemist's Alcove $7.99 32 96% 960 $7.7k (exactly $7,670) Nefarious Brew Games
Metamancer $14.99 13 100% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Colter Grant Robinson
Mangui $5.99 25 100% 750 $4.5k (exactly $4,492) Damulchi

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