Games › Perma Death › Perma Death + Dragons
Should I ship a Dragon Perma Death game?
Perma Death + Dragons
Only 12 developers shipped a Dragon Perma Death game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Mage and Monsters II, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×4.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×160 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 19 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) |
| Top 25% | $16k (exactly $16,189) |
| Top 5% | $100k (exactly $100,328) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 39 |
| Announced | 19 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Perma Death
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Dragons
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Perma Death
- Price point
- $4.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 9 games average 81% positive over 592 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Perma Death with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Strong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + PiratesFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + 3D PlatformerFair
Comparable games
Day of Dragons 2019 · EA · $3.8M 
Slice & Dice 2024 · $670k 
Mage and Monsters 2022 · $135k 
Mage and Monsters II 2025 · $100k 
Rogue 2020 · $45k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Day of Dragons | · EA older | $19.99 | 6,278 68% | 188k | $3.8M (exactly $3,764,917) | Beawesome Games |
| | Slice & Dice | older | $8.99 | 2,484 96% | 75k | $670k (exactly $669,935) | Tann |
| | Mage and Monsters | older | $4.99 | 903 89% | 27k | $135k (exactly $135,179) | Lasse Zacho Malver |
| | Mage and Monsters II | $8.99 | 372 82% | 11k | $100k (exactly $100,328) | Lasse Zacho Malver | |
| | Rogue | older | $2.99 | 498 94% | 15k | $45k (exactly $44,671) | Epyx, Inc. |
 | Choice Chamber | older | $9.99 | 123 89% | 3.7k | $37k (exactly $36,863) | Studio Bean |
 | Tears of Adria | older | $13.99 | 75 86% | 2.3k | $31k (exactly $31,478) | Ark Island Studio |
 | Esperia ~ Uprising of the Scarlet Witch ~ | older | $18.99 | 44 95% | 1.3k | $25k (exactly $25,067) | Prismalice |
 | Nevergrind | $12.99 | 60 68% | 1.8k | $23k (exactly $23,382) | Neverworks Games | |
 | Dethroned | · EA older | $19.99 | 31 61% | 930 | $19k (exactly $18,591) | Irid Games |
 | Demiurges | $14.99 | 36 88% | 1.1k | $16k (exactly $16,189) | Berih | |
 | Nomyou | $11.99 | 39 56% | 1.2k | $14k (exactly $14,028) | Kudalyn's Creations | |
 | Draggin' | $4.99 | 56 98% | 1.7k | $8.4k (exactly $8,383) | Dragon Fractal Games | |
 | Landonia | · EA | $4.99 | 17 94% | 510 | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) | Landonia RPG |
 | Dragonwake | $7.99 | 8 62% | 240 | $1.9k (exactly $1,918) | Mr Crops | |
 | Astraea | $4.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $299 (exactly $299) | Vizabee Games | |
 | HGD SURVIVOR | $1.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $119 (exactly $119) | Hanseo Cho, Yir Kim | |
 | Calypso's Calamity | $1.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | WEST COAST WONDERS TABLETOP GAMES INC. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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