Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Demons
Should I ship a Demon Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Demons
Of 32 developers who shipped a Demon Metroidvania 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.. 55 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.4k, ×13 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $610k, ×1286 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 55 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.2k (exactly $2,158) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.4k (exactly $6,369) |
| Top 25% | $33k (exactly $32,667) |
| Top 5% | $611k (exactly $610,693) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 83 |
| Announced | 55 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Metroidvania
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Demons
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Metroidvania; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 2D Platformer, Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 5,694 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.2k. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ParkourPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + VampiresPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
ASTLIBRA Revision 2022 · $23M 
Darksiders Warmastered Edition 2016 · $8.4M 
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound 2025 · $1.9M 
Castlevania Dominus Collection 2024 · $1.8M 
Castlevania Advance Collection 2021 · $1.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ASTLIBRA Revision | older | $24.99 | 30,262 95% | 908k | $23M (exactly $22,687,421) | KEIZO |
| | Darksiders Warmastered Edition | older | $19.99 | 13,942 88% | 418k | $8.4M (exactly $8,361,017) | KAIKO, Vigil Games |
| | NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound | $24.99 | 2,500 92% | 75k | $1.9M (exactly $1,874,250) | The Game Kitchen | |
| | Castlevania Dominus Collection | older | $24.99 | 2,362 94% | 71k | $1.8M (exactly $1,770,791) | KONAMI |
| | Castlevania Advance Collection | older | $19.99 | 2,149 91% | 64k | $1.3M (exactly $1,288,755) | KONAMI |
 | Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus | older | $19.99 | 1,398 82% | 42k | $838k (exactly $838,381) | Squid Shock Studios, Christopher Stair,… (Squid Shock Studios, Christopher Stair, Trevor Youngquist) |
 | Shadow Man Remastered | older | $19.99 | 1,368 94% | 41k | $820k (exactly $820,390) | Nightdive Studios, Acclaim Studios Tees… (Nightdive Studios, Acclaim Studios Teesside) |
 | Slain: Back from Hell | older | $12.99 | 1,692 71% | 51k | $659k (exactly $659,372) | Steel Mantis |
 | BLADECHIMERA | $14.99 | 1,358 88% | 41k | $611k (exactly $610,693) | Team Ladybug, WSS playground | |
 | The Devil Within: Satgat | $24.99 | 795 78% | 24k | $596k (exactly $596,012) | Newcore Games | |
 | Eternity Egg | · EA | $19.99 | 577 82% | 17k | $346k (exactly $346,027) | USERLANDS |
 | Ariana and the Elder Codex | $29.99 | 69 65% | 2.1k | $62k (exactly $62,079) | Idea Factory, Compile Heart, HYDE, Inc. | |
 | DAMON and BABY | $19.99 | 87 89% | 2.6k | $52k (exactly $52,174) | Arc System Works | |
 | Stardust Demon | $19.99 | 77 83% | 2.3k | $46k (exactly $46,177) | resnijars | |
 | Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege | $9.99 | 109 94% | 3.3k | $33k (exactly $32,667) | Lillymo Games | |
 | Beholgar 2 | $11.99 | 77 80% | 2.3k | $28k (exactly $27,697) | Serkan Bakar | |
 | Hellscreen | $17.99 | 45 80% | 1.4k | $24k (exactly $24,286) | Jamie D, Mixtape Games UK |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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