Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Demons

Of 109 developers who shipped a Demon Dungeon Crawler 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.. 184 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×2.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×399 the market median. Revenue is up 185% on the market; 184 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 185% on the market, 184 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 109
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $748 → $2.4k → $1.5k → $1.3k → $899 → $5.5k → $599 (still earning) → $718 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 109
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Top 25% $7.8k (exactly $7,792)
Top 5% $190k (exactly $189,505)
Developers, 2 yr 109
Released games 288
Announced 184
Effort 4 / 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 up 185% on the market, supply as many developers as 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Dungeon Crawler
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Demons
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Dungeon Crawler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action, Hack and Slash
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 10,025 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $7.7k, 1 in 20 over $180k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 64 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 184 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Time ManagementFair35 devs · median $7.0k · 44 announced
  2. + GamblingFair16 devs · median $7.0k · 17 announced
  3. + DiceFair24 devs · median $5.1k · 32 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair29 devs · median $2.3k · 38 announced
  5. + Local Co-OpFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 60 announced
  6. + ZombiesFair65 devs · median $1.0k · 74 announced
  7. + Word GameFair12 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  8. + ThrillerFair45 devs · median $716 · 46 announced
  9. + Walking SimulatorFair59 devs · median $479 · 62 announced
  10. + Score AttackFair29 devs · median $479 · 33 announced
  11. + MMORPGPoor odds10 devs · median $144k · 80 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds8 devs · median $55k · 30 announced

All 175 pairs on the Dungeon Crawler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Diablo® IV 2023 · $88M Book of Demons 2018 · $6.0M Warhammer: Chaosbane 2019 · $2.9M Dead Estate 2021 · $2.6M Hell Clock 2025 · $2.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Diablo® IV older $49.99 58,668 69% 1.8M $88M (exactly $87,984,400) Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Book of Demons older $24.99 8,010 91% 240k $6.0M (exactly $6,005,097) Thing Trunk
Warhammer: Chaosbane older $29.99 3,274 60% 98k $2.9M (exactly $2,945,618) Eko Software
Dead Estate older $14.99 5,778 95% 173k $2.6M (exactly $2,598,367) Milkbar Lads
Hell Clock $19.99 3,535 82% 106k $2.1M (exactly $2,119,940) Rogue Snail
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord older $34.99 1,209 77% 36k $1.3M (exactly $1,269,087) Digital Eclipse
Labyrinth Of The Demon King $19.99 2,116 92% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,268,965) J. R. Hudepohl
Forbidden Solitaire $15.99 2,245 96% 67k $1.1M (exactly $1,076,926) Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertai… (Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertainment)
Sex, Please older $5.99 3,243 74% 97k $583k (exactly $582,767) Evil Boobs Cult
DemonCrawl older $14.99 1,230 76% 37k $553k (exactly $553,131) Therefore Games
DAIMON BLADES · EA $19.90 707 69% 21k $422k (exactly $422,079) StreumOn Studio
Tower of Kalemonvo $14.99 453 83% 14k $204k (exactly $203,714) osur
HellSlave II: Judgment of the Archon $19.99 316 77% 9.5k $190k (exactly $189,505) Ars Goetia
The Brave of Boner and the Demon of Halphas $13.99 248 95% 7.4k $104k (exactly $104,086) AVANTGARDE
Jupiter Hell Classic · EA $14.99 230 95% 6.9k $103k (exactly $103,431) ChaosForge
Cladun X3 $39.99 83 90% 2.5k $100k (exactly $99,575) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Lost in Prayer · EA $19.99 92 80% 2.8k $55k (exactly $55,172) Nine Dots Studio

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