Do I ship it?

GamesCraftingCrafting + Dungeon Crawler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Crafting Dungeon Crawler?

Crafting + Dungeon Crawler

Of 149 developers who shipped a Crafting Dungeon Crawler 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.. 323 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.4k, ×5.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $820k, ×1315 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 323 games are announced against 94 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 323 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Crafting + Dungeon Crawler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 149
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.1k → $9.0k → $4.0k → $7.8k → $5.8k → $4.3k → $2.8k (still earning) → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Crafting + Dungeon Crawler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 149
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $3.4k (exactly $3,355)
Top 25% $25k (exactly $24,588)
Top 5% $826k (exactly $825,714)
Developers, 2 yr 149
Released games 330
Announced 323
Effort 5 / 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 up 15% on the market, supply 70% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Crafting
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Dungeon Crawler
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Crafting, Dungeon Crawler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 211,438 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $3.4k, 1 in 4 over $24k, 1 in 20 over $820k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 60 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 323 games are announced against 94 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds62 devs · median $15k · 65 announced
  2. + SportsFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Turn-BasedFair16 devs · median $17k · 24 announced
  4. + IdlerFair235 devs · median $1.7k · 338 announced
  5. + SolitaireFair12 devs · median $809 · 20 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds17 devs · median $174k · 39 announced
  7. + MMORPGPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Poor odds19 devs · median $90k · 50 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds160 devs · median $77k · 369 announced
  10. + WesternPoor odds13 devs · median $69k · 23 announced
  11. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds20 devs · median $44k · 25 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds17 devs · median $39k · 30 announced

All 200 pairs on the Crafting page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Path of Exile 2 · EA $29.99 167,730 76% 5.0M $151M (exactly $150,906,681) Grinding Gear Games
Grim Dawn older $24.99 92,979 93% 2.8M $70M (exactly $69,706,356) Crate Entertainment
Noita older $19.99 81,149 95% 2.4M $49M (exactly $48,665,055) Nolla Games
Titan Quest II · EA $34.99 17,398 81% 522k $18M (exactly $18,262,681) Grimlore Games
Portal Knights older $19.99 16,885 83% 507k $10M (exactly $10,125,934) Keen Games GmbH
Pax Dei $29.99 7,163 56% 215k $6.4M (exactly $6,444,551) Mainframe Industries
Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness older $59.99 2,650 79% 80k $4.8M (exactly $4,769,205) Chime Corporation
Len's Island $24.99 5,935 82% 178k $4.4M (exactly $4,449,470) Flow Studio
Chronicon older $13.99 8,822 94% 265k $3.7M (exactly $3,702,593) Subworld
Wizard with a Gun older $24.99 2,932 80% 88k $2.2M (exactly $2,198,120) Galvanic Games
Romestead · EA $13.99 4,660 76% 140k $2.0M (exactly $1,955,802) Beartwigs
Cloudheim · EA $29.99 1,819 81% 55k $1.6M (exactly $1,636,554) Noodle Cat Games
Deadly Days: Roadtrip · EA $14.99 2,855 87% 86k $1.3M (exactly $1,283,894) Pixelsplit
Return from Core $16.99 1,620 75% 49k $826k (exactly $825,714) 顽核社 FuncoreClub
Blackthorn Arena: Reforged $24.99 882 66% 26k $661k (exactly $661,235) PersonaeGame Studio
Anomaly President · EA $14.99 1,376 91% 41k $619k (exactly $618,787) Phew Phew Games

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