Games › Roguelite › Roguelite + Crime
Should I ship a Crime Roguelite?
Roguelite + Crime
Only 13 developers shipped a Crime Roguelite 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, Karate Survivor, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 49 more are announced, ×4.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $140; 1 in 20 cleared $440k, ×714 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 49 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $132 (exactly $132) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $72k (exactly $71,928) |
| Top 5% | $449k (exactly $448,651) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 29 |
| Announced | 49 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 235% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Roguelite; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Arcade, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 4,177 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $140. 49 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Roguelite with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-TimeFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + TypingFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DogsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + DwarvesPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience | older | $19.99 | 2,596 91% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,556,821) | Delve Interactive |
| | Karate Survivor | $4.99 | 2,997 85% | 90k | $449k (exactly $448,651) | Alawar | |
| | Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator | $19.99 | 513 91% | 15k | $308k (exactly $307,646) | Strange Scaffold | |
| | The Swindle | older | $14.99 | 502 64% | 15k | $226k (exactly $225,749) | Size Five Games |
| | Rina's Undercover Train Operation | $13.99 | 286 70% | 8.6k | $120k (exactly $120,034) | Metamorphose | |
| | The Fable: Manga Build Roguelike | $9.99 | 240 91% | 7.2k | $72k (exactly $71,928) | MONO ENTERTAINMENT | |
| | Trapper: Drug Dealing RPG | · EA older | $19.99 | 102 88% | 3.1k | $61k (exactly $61,169) | Lathon Gaming |
| | Mini Thief | older | $4.99 | 373 69% | 11k | $56k (exactly $55,838) | Stranga Games, TommahGames |
| | DROP - System Breach | older | $9.99 | 178 86% | 5.3k | $53k (exactly $53,347) | Etherfield Studio |
| | Hacky | $4.99 | 95 93% | 2.9k | $14k (exactly $14,222) | Cuddle Code | |
| | Blackjack Roulette | $2.99 | 30 83% | 900 | $2.7k (exactly $2,691) | DreamArk Lab | |
| | Only Cards | $4.99 | 7 85% | 210 | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) | Grim's Studio | |
| | Cloak And Coin | · EA | $4.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $898 (exactly $898) | netDOT |
| | Second Chance at a Billion | $10.00 | 2 50% | 60 | $600 (exactly $600) | ElderYew | |
| | Stellar Hustler | $4.39 | 1 100% | 30 | $132 (exactly $132) | Cenrellia Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.