Do I ship it?

GamesRoguelikeRoguelike + Dogs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dog Roguelike?

Roguelike + Dogs

Of 30 developers who shipped a Dog 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.. 17 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×4.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $630. Revenue is up 460% on the market; 17 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 460% on the market, 17 announced, ×1.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelike + Dogs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.7k → $958 → $12k → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelike + Dogs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $628 (exactly $628)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,946)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,994)
Top 5% $212k (exactly $212,188)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 47
Announced 17
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 460% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Roguelike
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Dogs
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Roguelike; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Procedural Generation, Action, Action Roguelike
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Cartoony
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 4,387 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. All of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 17 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + JRPGFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  2. + 6DOFFair15 devs · median $4.7k · 7 announced
  3. + Grand StrategyFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  4. + VampiresFair59 devs · median $3.1k · 58 announced
  5. + Artificial IntelligenceFair60 devs · median $1.8k · 85 announced
  6. + SuperheroFair12 devs · median $1.1k · 17 announced
  7. + IdlerFair160 devs · median $1.0k · 206 announced
  8. + ArcadeFair841 devs · median $959 · 1,066 announced
  9. + Walking SimulatorFair29 devs · median $718 · 28 announced
  10. + 2D PlatformerFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  11. + Traditional RoguelikeFair247 devs · median $599 · 314 announced
  12. + LogicFair141 devs · median $599 · 168 announced

All 231 pairs on the Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Flame in the Flood older $14.99 2,709 76% 81k $1.2M (exactly $1,218,237) The Molasses Flood
FATE older $7.99 4,092 95% 123k $981k (exactly $980,852) WildTangent
Pratfall $7.99 2,797 90% 84k $670k (exactly $670,441) Quad Head
Dogpile $9.99 708 95% 21k $212k (exactly $212,188) Studio Folly, Toot Games, Foot
Batomon Showdown $14.99 327 87% 9.8k $147k (exactly $147,052) berrymint
DOG WITCH $9.99 323 89% 9.7k $97k (exactly $96,803) Heckmouse
Fidel Dungeon Rescue older $9.99 316 94% 9.5k $95k (exactly $94,705) Daniel Benmergui, Jeremías Babini, Hern… (Daniel Benmergui, Jeremías Babini, Hernán Rozenwasser)
スペルトナエル older $8.99 344 97% 10k $93k (exactly $92,777) おまど
Space Hack older $4.99 241 58% 7.2k $36k (exactly $36,078) ·
Doll Explorer older $9.99 96 91% 2.9k $29k (exactly $28,771) Pico Games
Roguematch : The Extraplanar Invasion $14.99 33 84% 990 $15k (exactly $14,840) Starstruck Games
Dawg Game $3.99 104 98% 3.1k $12k (exactly $12,449) Big Noses Entertainment
Mechanines Tower Defense $6.99 34 94% 1.0k $7.1k (exactly $7,130) João Kecek & Camille Regel
Never Ending Beyond $9.99 20 80% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) One More Dream Studios
Mirror Throne: Auto Battler $6.99 21 90% 630 $4.4k (exactly $4,404) Zackavelli
World's Goodest Pup $6.99 20 90% 600 $4.2k (exactly $4,194) Pandamander, LLC

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