Do I ship it?

Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Cyberpunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cyberpunk Roguelike?

Roguelike + Cyberpunk

Of 172 developers who shipped a Cyberpunk 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.. 280 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $510k, ×821 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 280 games are announced against 116 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 280 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelike + Cyberpunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 172
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $3.3k → $2.6k → $5.4k → $2.9k → $5.8k → $449 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelike + Cyberpunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 172
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,678)
Top 25% $8.4k (exactly $8,392)
Top 5% $516k (exactly $515,816)
Developers, 2 yr 172
Released games 371
Announced 280
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 50% on the market, supply 105% 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.

Roguelike
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Cyberpunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Roguelike; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Action, Action Roguelike
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 20,375 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $8.3k, 1 in 20 over $510k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 64 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 280 games are announced against 116 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Roguelike with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + JRPGFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  2. + 6DOFFair15 devs · median $4.7k · 7 announced
  3. + Grand StrategyFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  4. + VampiresFair59 devs · median $3.1k · 58 announced
  5. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.9k · 17 announced
  6. + Artificial IntelligenceFair60 devs · median $1.8k · 85 announced
  7. + SuperheroFair12 devs · median $1.1k · 17 announced
  8. + IdlerFair160 devs · median $1.0k · 206 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair841 devs · median $959 · 1,066 announced
  10. + Walking SimulatorFair29 devs · median $718 · 28 announced
  11. + 2D PlatformerFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  12. + Traditional RoguelikeFair247 devs · median $599 · 314 announced

All 231 pairs on the Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Neon Abyss 2020 · $19M SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising 2018 · $6.1M Quasimorph 2026 · $5.4M Anomaly Agent 2024 · $3.4M Invisible, Inc. 2015 · $3.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Neon Abyss older $31.49 19,709 86% 591k $19M (exactly $18,619,092) Veewo Games
SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising older $19.99 10,111 94% 303k $6.1M (exactly $6,063,567) Flow Fire Games
Quasimorph $24.99 7,196 82% 216k $5.4M (exactly $5,394,841) Magnum Scriptum
Anomaly Agent older $11.99 9,463 94% 284k $3.4M (exactly $3,403,841) Phew Phew Games
Invisible, Inc. older $19.99 5,096 91% 153k $3.1M (exactly $3,056,071) Klei Entertainment
Ostranauts $19.99 3,137 77% 94k $1.9M (exactly $1,881,259) Blue Bottle Games
Receiver 2 older $19.99 2,852 90% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,710,344) Wolfire Games
Going Under older $19.99 2,702 92% 81k $1.6M (exactly $1,620,389) Aggro Crab
Neon Echo · EA older $14.99 3,514 56% 105k $1.6M (exactly $1,580,246) Xinyuan Studio
UBERMOSH older $4.99 8,757 92% 263k $1.3M (exactly $1,310,923) Walter Machado
Neon Abyss 2 · EA $19.99 1,968 68% 59k $1.2M (exactly $1,180,210) Veewo Games
KIBORG $24.99 1,221 84% 37k $915k (exactly $915,384) Sobaka Studio
Meta Ghost: Breaking Show $17.99 1,497 72% 45k $808k (exactly $807,931) Scarecrow Studio
Battle Shapers $24.99 984 80% 30k $738k (exactly $737,705) Metric Empire
Card-en-Ciel $24.99 856 90% 26k $642k (exactly $641,743) INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
TerraTech Legion $9.99 2,109 81% 63k $632k (exactly $632,067) Payload Studios
Star Fire: Eternal Cycle $16.99 1,012 91% 30k $516k (exactly $515,816) Ethereal Fish Studio
Roboquest VR $29.99 395 87% 12k $355k (exactly $355,382) Flat2VR Studios, RyseUp Studios

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