Should I ship a Dragon Loot game?
Loot + Dragons
Of 28 developers who shipped a Dragon Loot game 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.. 42 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $10k, ×17 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $390k, ×631 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 42 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
|---|---|
| Median | $10k (exactly $10,423) |
| Top 25% | $114k (exactly $114,077) |
| Top 5% | $396k (exactly $396,402) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 81 |
| Announced | 42 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Loot; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Action
- Price point
- $12.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2.5D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.
The top 10 games average 73% positive over 5,057 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 4 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Loot with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds
- + Local Co-OpStrong odds
- + SteampunkStrong odds
- + CapitalismFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + JRPGFair
- + EconomyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + CatsFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + CollectathonFair
Comparable games
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin 2021 · $14M 
Cat Quest 2017 · $3.3M 
Dragonkin: The Banished 2026 · $1.7M 
Monster Hunter Stories 2024 · $1.5M 
Slice & Dice 2024 · $670k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin | older | $39.99 | 11,845 82% | 355k | $14M (exactly $14,210,446) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | Cat Quest | older | $12.99 | 8,371 94% | 251k | $3.3M (exactly $3,262,179) | The Gentlebros |
| | Dragonkin: The Banished | $24.99 | 2,239 72% | 67k | $1.7M (exactly $1,678,578) | Eko Software | |
| | Monster Hunter Stories | older | $29.99 | 1,615 90% | 48k | $1.5M (exactly $1,453,016) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | Slice & Dice | older | $8.99 | 2,484 96% | 75k | $670k (exactly $669,935) | Tann |
 | 我在地球修仙有系统 | older | $14.99 | 959 70% | 29k | $431k (exactly $431,262) | 红星 |
 | Dragon Is Dead | $19.99 | 661 75% | 20k | $396k (exactly $396,402) | TeamSuneat | |
 | Wigmund | older | $14.99 | 795 80% | 24k | $358k (exactly $357,512) | The Scholastics |
 | Fight The Dragon | older | $9.99 | 993 78% | 30k | $298k (exactly $297,602) | 3 Sprockets |
 | Wayblazer Dämmerung | $39.99 | 244 65% | 7.3k | $293k (exactly $292,727) | Eushully | |
 | Talisman: Digital 5th Edition | $29.99 | 227 70% | 6.8k | $204k (exactly $204,232) | Nomad Games | |
 | Soul's Chronicle: Immortal Slayer | $14.99 | 441 77% | 13k | $198k (exactly $198,318) | 正向星光工作室 | |
 | Embers Adrift | $19.99 | 240 69% | 7.2k | $144k (exactly $143,928) | Stormhaven Studios | |
 | Loot Tycoon | · EA | $6.99 | 544 71% | 16k | $114k (exactly $114,077) | Parallel Portal |
 | Cladun X3 | $39.99 | 83 90% | 2.5k | $100k (exactly $99,575) | Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. | |
 | Dragonhold | $19.99 | 163 68% | 4.9k | $98k (exactly $97,751) | Exis Games | |
 | Scarmonde | $13.99 | 215 98% | 6.5k | $90k (exactly $90,236) | Ephiam |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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