Games › Mystery Dungeon › Mystery Dungeon + Dark Fantasy
Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Mystery Dungeon?
Mystery Dungeon + Dark Fantasy
Of 70 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy Mystery Dungeon 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.. 125 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×250 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 125 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) |
| Top 5% | $157k (exactly $157,053) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 70 |
| Released games | 180 |
| Announced | 125 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 20% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Mystery Dungeon
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Dark Fantasy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Mystery Dungeon; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, RPG
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 4,284 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 125 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Mystery Dungeon with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + JRPGStrong odds
- + TacticalStrong odds
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + RomanceFair
- + Perma DeathFair
- + Tactical RPGFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + HistoricalFair
- + PhysicsFair
Comparable games
Hammerwatch II 2023 · $1.4M 
In Verbis Virtus 2015 · $878k 
Spark in the Dark 2026 · EA · $598k 
Hellboy Web of Wyrd 2023 · $511k 
Skull Horde 2026 · $422k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hammerwatch II | older | $24.99 | 1,871 60% | 56k | $1.4M (exactly $1,402,689) | Crackshell |
| | In Verbis Virtus | older | $19.99 | 1,464 78% | 44k | $878k (exactly $877,961) | Indomitus Games |
| | Spark in the Dark | · EA | $16.99 | 1,174 87% | 35k | $598k (exactly $598,388) | Stellar Fish |
| | Hellboy Web of Wyrd | older | $24.99 | 681 71% | 20k | $511k (exactly $510,546) | Upstream Arcade |
| | Skull Horde | $12.99 | 1,083 81% | 32k | $422k (exactly $422,045) | 8BitSkull | |
 | PIT OF GOBLIN | · EA | $5.99 | 915 84% | 27k | $164k (exactly $164,426) | Friendly Foe |
 | Monsters Domain | older | $19.99 | 272 34% | 8.2k | $163k (exactly $163,118) | G-DEVS.com |
 | Goblin Dungeons | $17.99 | 291 83% | 8.7k | $157k (exactly $157,053) | Loolust | |
 | Embers Adrift | $19.99 | 240 69% | 7.2k | $144k (exactly $143,928) | Stormhaven Studios | |
 | Caves of Lore | older | $9.99 | 408 93% | 12k | $122k (exactly $122,278) | by Mike Robins |
 | Maid of Salvation | $14.99 | 209 88% | 6.3k | $94k (exactly $93,987) | ORANGE POPCORN | |
 | Runehaven | $9.99 | 119 91% | 3.6k | $36k (exactly $35,664) | Cikoria Studio | |
 | The Fortress | $6.99 | 151 68% | 4.5k | $32k (exactly $31,665) | Baryonyx Games | |
 | Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch | $14.99 | 61 70% | 1.8k | $27k (exactly $27,432) | Dvora Studio Co. Ltd. | |
 | Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire | $19.99 | 41 70% | 1.2k | $25k (exactly $24,588) | Schell Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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