Do I ship it?

GamesRogueliteRoguelite + Dogs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dog Roguelite?

Roguelite + Dogs

Of 30 developers who shipped a Dog Roguelite 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.. 22 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $630. Revenue is up 290% on the market; 22 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 290% on the market, 22 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelite + 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: $15k → $3.1k → $958 → $628 → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelite + Dogs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $628 (exactly $628)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Top 25% $3.7k (exactly $3,742)
Top 5% $67k (exactly $66,678)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 50
Announced 22
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 290% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 2%, 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.

Roguelite
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
Roguelite; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Strategy, Procedural Generation
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 627 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 $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $3.7k, 1 in 20 over $66k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. All of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-TimeFair11 devs · median $11k · 14 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair24 devs · median $9.3k · 28 announced
  3. + VampiresFair60 devs · median $4.8k · 62 announced
  4. + TypingFair29 devs · median $2.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Grand StrategyFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  6. + IdlerFair166 devs · median $1.5k · 235 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair23 devs · median $1.1k · 23 announced
  8. + Score AttackFair344 devs · median $719 · 450 announced
  9. + Point & ClickFair94 devs · median $600 · 121 announced
  10. + LogicFair144 devs · median $599 · 143 announced
  11. + DwarvesPoor odds21 devs · median $74k · 24 announced
  12. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $50k · 31 announced

All 229 pairs on the Roguelite 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
The Red Lantern older $24.99 934 83% 28k $700k (exactly $700,220) Timberline Studio
METAL DOGS older $19.99 766 81% 23k $459k (exactly $459,370) 24Frame,inc.
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)
Fright Train $15.99 139 89% 4.2k $67k (exactly $66,678) WildArts Games
Domestic Dog older $4.99 319 83% 9.6k $48k (exactly $47,754) SD
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
The Peak of Life $8.99 30 66% 900 $8.1k (exactly $8,091) XY Game
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
Pancake Patrol $4.99 25 92% 750 $3.7k (exactly $3,742) Power Plins Games
Pawful Dice $14.99 8 100% 240 $3.6k (exactly $3,598) Anomalie Studio
Kemotaku $15.99 7 100% 210 $3.4k (exactly $3,358) Kojika Games

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