Do I ship it?

GamesDungeon CrawlerDungeon Crawler + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Detective

Of 23 developers who shipped a Detective 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.. 43 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 11 developers shipped in the last year and 43 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 43 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.0k → $478 → $748 → $657 → $210 → $386 (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $898 (exactly $898)
Top 5% $4.3k (exactly $4,315)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 57
Announced 43
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 20% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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
Detective
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 785 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 $300, 1 in 4 over $890, 1 in 20 over $4.3k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. All of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
MeteoriteFall $12.99 651 78% 20k $254k (exactly $253,695) ST studio
The Adventures of MICOCO older $6.99 349 79% 10k $73k (exactly $73,185) PantyParrot
Madorica Real Estate 2 - The mystery of the new property - older $19.99 49 93% 1.5k $29k (exactly $29,385) GIFT TEN INDUSTRY K.K., TUMBLEWEEDJP
Death Below older $9.99 63 58% 1.9k $19k (exactly $18,881) Soft
Rain City older $3.99 127 56% 3.8k $15k (exactly $15,202) big pineapple
The 18th Floor older $14.99 26 53% 780 $12k (exactly $11,692) Aoga Games
Paramnesia: Escape Together older $8.99 43 90% 1.3k $12k (exactly $11,597) Suymo
Obscene Mansion older $3.99 50 66% 1.5k $6.0k (exactly $5,985) Fabula
Endless Nightmare older $15.99 11 81% 330 $5.3k (exactly $5,277) CHENGDU JIAYIHUYU TECHNOLOGY CO.,LT
CipherMind $7.99 18 77% 540 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) Pigeon Games
Iridescent $9.99 10 90% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) DraymaDev
Margarita (Berkeley's Maid: Remake Edition) · EA $1.60 43 60% 1.3k $2.1k (exactly $2,064) Muharukahana Studio, Cydron
Дейтсим Говна $2.99 16 100% 480 $1.4k (exactly $1,435) Traxmaster Productions
8th Avenue $4.99 6 50% 180 $898 (exactly $898) No Mad Studio
Security Control · EA $4.99 5 60% 150 $748 (exactly $748) Greavette Games
博物魅影 $1.99 12 91% 360 $716 (exactly $716) 图南工作室(Tunan Studio)
To find her $1.99 11 90% 330 $657 (exactly $657) 寻踪开发商
Visual Novel: Requiem for Noodles $0.99 13 92% 390 $386 (exactly $386) Reanim Games

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