Do I ship it?

GamesDungeon CrawlerDungeon Crawler + Cooking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cooking Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Cooking

Only 14 developers shipped a Cooking Dungeon Crawler in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, SULFUR, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 43 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $4.2k, ×8.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $7.2M, ×15217 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 43 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 43 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Cooking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $2.4k → $94k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Cooking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $4.2k (exactly $4,196)
Top 25% $94k (exactly $93,987)
Top 5% $7.2M (exactly $7,227,858)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 30
Announced 43
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 55% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Cooking
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, Cooking; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Action Roguelike, Deckbuilding
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Dark Humor, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 11,236 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $4.2k, 1 in 4 over $93k, 1 in 20 over $7.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 43 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 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
SULFUR · EA $24.99 9,641 87% 289k $7.2M (exactly $7,227,858) Perfect Random
Cuisineer older $24.99 1,820 76% 55k $1.4M (exactly $1,364,454) BattleBrew Productions
MeteoriteFall $12.99 651 78% 20k $254k (exactly $253,695) ST studio
Goblin Sushi · EA $9.99 404 89% 12k $121k (exactly $121,079) Old Cake Factory
Hungry Horrors · EA $14.99 209 98% 6.3k $94k (exactly $93,987) Clumsy Bear Studio
Abyss Kitchen $11.99 202 89% 6.1k $73k (exactly $72,659) Pico Games
Sword and Fairy Inn older $4.99 151 57% 4.5k $23k (exactly $22,605) SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT
Dreaming Isles $6.99 79 51% 2.4k $17k (exactly $16,566) YawningDad
Delicious Dungeon older $7.99 46 73% 1.4k $11k (exactly $11,026) Digital Cauldron
新叶旅者与少年的回忆 older $3.99 71 83% 2.1k $8.5k (exactly $8,499) project bamboo
Surviving Skeleton Island $9.99 14 64% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Bert Games
Deepfried in Deepspace $4.99 16 100% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Medium Well Games
Staying Fresh · EA $3.99 17 100% 510 $2.0k (exactly $2,035) Rubel Games
Blop $5.99 3 100% 90 $539 (exactly $539) qd9

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