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Should I ship a Dragon Roguelite?
Roguelite + Dragons
Of 47 developers who shipped a Dragon 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.. 78 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×4.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×266 the market median. Revenue is up 75% on the market; 78 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $419 (exactly $419) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $13,323) |
| Top 5% | $167k (exactly $166,839) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 47 |
| Released games | 111 |
| Announced | 78 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 75% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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
- Roguelite; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, RPG
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 3,075 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 7 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 78 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Roguelite with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-TimeFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + TypingFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DogsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + DwarvesPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon | older | $24.99 | 963 76% | 29k | $722k (exactly $721,961) | KONAMI, GuruGuru |
| | Slice & Dice | older | $8.99 | 2,484 96% | 75k | $670k (exactly $669,935) | Tann |
| | None Shall Intrude | $14.99 | 934 73% | 28k | $420k (exactly $420,020) | Aeterna Ludi | |
| | Dragon Is Dead | $19.99 | 661 75% | 20k | $396k (exactly $396,402) | TeamSuneat | |
| | Mirror of Heaven | older | $9.25 | 995 79% | 30k | $276k (exactly $276,112) | EnjoyPlay Ltd |
| | Ruff Ghanor | older | $19.99 | 435 85% | 13k | $261k (exactly $260,869) | DX Gameworks |
| | Erannorth Chronicles | older | $20.99 | 407 85% | 12k | $256k (exactly $256,288) | Spyridon Thalassinos |
| | Feed the Scorchpot | $14.99 | 371 87% | 11k | $167k (exactly $166,839) | Moravian | |
| | Pathfinder: Gallowspire Survivors | older | $6.99 | 559 59% | 17k | $117k (exactly $117,222) | BKOM Studios |
| | The Awakener: Forgotten Oath | older | $16.99 | 212 71% | 6.4k | $108k (exactly $108,056) | TANER GAMES |
| | Circle Empires 2 | $12.99 | 266 72% | 8.0k | $104k (exactly $103,660) | Luminous | |
| | Mage and Monsters II | $8.99 | 372 82% | 11k | $100k (exactly $100,328) | Lasse Zacho Malver | |
| | Swords And Magic: Path Of Conquest | · EA | $9.99 | 128 77% | 3.8k | $38k (exactly $38,362) | ShadowMoon Wolf Game Tech Ltd |
| | Sunbreak War | $8.99 | 122 81% | 3.7k | $33k (exactly $32,903) | Candlelight Studio | |
| | My Infamous Dungeon | $14.99 | 63 76% | 1.9k | $28k (exactly $28,331) | BoxFox Studios | |
| | Black Dragon Mage | · EA | $5.99 | 140 70% | 4.2k | $25k (exactly $25,158) | datablob |
| | Ariokan™ - create your cards, break the Meta | $29.99 | 18 94% | 540 | $16k (exactly $16,195) | Fatum Games SL |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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