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Should I ship a Dating Sim Roguelike?
Roguelike + Dating Sim
Of 26 developers who shipped a Dating Sim 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.. 35 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $13k, ×27 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $630; 1 in 20 cleared $620k, ×1323 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 35 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $628 (exactly $628) |
|---|---|
| Median | $13k (exactly $12,590) |
| Top 25% | $83k (exactly $82,936) |
| Top 5% | $628k (exactly $628,231) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 57 |
| Announced | 35 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 up 20% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 4%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Roguelike
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Dating Sim
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Roguelike, Dating Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Simulation, Adventure
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Story Rich, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 66% positive over 60,288 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $630. 6 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Roguelike with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + JRPGFair
- + 6DOFFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + VampiresFair
- + DogsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + SuperheroFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
Comparable games
The Scroll of Taiwu : Beyond The Dome 2026 · $51M 
Max Gentlemen Sexy Business! 2020 · $895k 
Goblin Vyke: The Thief Tycoon 2026 · $628k 
Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator 2021 · $496k 
Nigate Tale 2024 · $407k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Scroll of Taiwu : Beyond The Dome | $29.99 | 56,535 65% | 1.7M | $51M (exactly $50,864,540) | ConchShip Games | |
| | Max Gentlemen Sexy Business! | older | $19.99 | 1,492 92% | 45k | $895k (exactly $894,752) | The Men Who Wear Many Hats |
| | Goblin Vyke: The Thief Tycoon | $14.99 | 1,397 70% | 42k | $628k (exactly $628,231) | Art Thieves | |
| | Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator | older | $19.99 | 827 92% | 25k | $496k (exactly $495,952) | Strange Scaffold |
| | Nigate Tale | $19.99 | 678 67% | 20k | $407k (exactly $406,597) | Hermit Games, 2P Games | |
 | Wings of Seduction: Bust 'em out! | older | $12.99 | 904 93% | 27k | $352k (exactly $352,289) | Ramen Cat Studio |
 | Love Love School Days | older | $5.99 | 1,067 95% | 32k | $192k (exactly $191,740) | OTL GAME |
 | 👑Idle Calibur：Zero💕（选王之剑：零） | $10.99 | 445 80% | 13k | $147k (exactly $146,716) | 绝汪 | |
 | Becoming a King | $14.99 | 281 77% | 8.4k | $126k (exactly $126,366) | Lustration Team, TopHouse Studio | |
 | Dungeon Dreams 2 | older | $19.99 | 209 90% | 6.3k | $125k (exactly $125,337) | DDreams Games |
 | Hypnosis Card 2 Happy Life | $12.99 | 270 91% | 8.1k | $105k (exactly $105,219) | Naku Kinoko | |
 | Find the Demon 恶魔鉴定守则 | $7.99 | 346 89% | 10k | $83k (exactly $82,936) | SHAKINO_UNION | |
 | Breach Protocol | $14.99 | 149 69% | 4.5k | $67k (exactly $67,005) | Entropy Digital Entertainment | |
 | Isekai Big Dick | $10.99 | 122 87% | 3.7k | $40k (exactly $40,223) | Hippo Games | |
 | Hypnosis Card 2 | $12.99 | 65 78% | 2.0k | $25k (exactly $25,330) | Naku Kinoko |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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