Do I ship it?

Games › CRPG › CRPG + Roguelite

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roguelite CRPG?

CRPG + Roguelite

Of 43 developers who shipped a Roguelite CRPG 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.. 81 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×98 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 81 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 81 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
CRPG + Roguelite
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 43
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $34k → $17k → $2.1k → $9.0k → $9.9k → $9.0k → $479 (still earning) → $238 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for CRPG + Roguelite: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,098)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $16,566)
Top 5% $147k (exactly $146,716)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 108
Announced 81
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 80% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

CRPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Roguelite
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
CRPG, Roguelite; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, RPG, Strategy
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 3,510 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $26k · 14 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair84 devs · median $2.4k · 95 announced
  3. + TabletopFair22 devs · median $1.9k · 26 announced
  4. + Traditional RoguelikeFair12 devs · median $1.9k · 13 announced
  5. + 2D PlatformerFair62 devs · median $1.2k · 76 announced
  6. + IncrementalLong shot32 devs · median $449 · 27 announced
  7. + FMVPoor odds16 devs · median $58k · 14 announced
  8. + Card BattlerPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 28 announced
  9. + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds26 devs · median $23k · 46 announced
  10. + SpacePoor odds11 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds13 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  12. + Souls-likePoor odds12 devs · median $20k · 24 announced

All 123 pairs on the CRPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Darkest Dungeon® II 2023 · $29M King Arthur: Knight's Tale 2022 · $9.1M Tainted Grail: Conquest 2021 · $4.6M Chinese Online Game 2024 · $2.0M Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch 2025 · $969k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Darkest Dungeon® II older $39.99 24,249 74% 727k $29M (exactly $29,091,525) Red Hook Studios
King Arthur: Knight's Tale older $44.99 6,722 83% 202k $9.1M (exactly $9,072,683) NeocoreGames
Tainted Grail: Conquest older $19.99 7,589 90% 228k $4.6M (exactly $4,551,123) Questline
Chinese Online Game older $9.99 6,610 82% 198k $2.0M (exactly $1,981,017) 648工作室
Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch $24.99 1,293 81% 39k $969k (exactly $969,362) Ocean Drive Studio, Inc.
The Iron Oath older $24.99 762 76% 23k $571k (exactly $571,271) Curious Panda Games
Swords and Sandals Immortals older $11.99 1,056 84% 32k $380k (exactly $379,843) Whiskeybarrel Studios
EdgeOfTheAbyssAwaken older $18.99 542 67% 16k $309k (exactly $308,777) TrinityBJ
Fabled Lands older $18.99 523 79% 16k $298k (exactly $297,953) Prime Games
Escape The Mad Empire · EA $17.99 406 88% 12k $219k (exactly $219,118) XperimentalZ Games
👑Idle Calibur：Zero💕（选王之剑：零） $10.99 445 80% 13k $147k (exactly $146,716) 绝汪
Forsworn $15.99 187 90% 5.6k $90k (exactly $89,704) Resummon Studios LLC
Swords and Sandals 3 Redux $9.99 233 87% 7.0k $70k (exactly $69,830) Whiskeybarrel Studios
Hidden Realm of the Enchantress $6.99 299 92% 9.0k $63k (exactly $62,700) T.F.A.N.C.S.
Voice of Belldona · EA $11.99 117 72% 3.5k $42k (exactly $42,085) StoryCropStudio
Slay or Fall $6.99 147 89% 4.4k $31k (exactly $30,826) ostsergey
RLLL: Tower of Choices $9.99 77 72% 2.3k $23k (exactly $23,077) Team5D
Subway Exorcist Girl $1.99 306 82% 9.2k $18k (exactly $18,268) 纤指游戏

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