Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Dystopian

Of 30 developers who shipped a Dystopian Dungeon Crawler 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.. 59 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.8k, ×10 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×280 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 59 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 59 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Dystopian
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: $47k → $26k → $449 → $43k → $4.8k → $1.4k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $4.8k (exactly $4,795)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $28,443)
Top 5% $133k (exactly $133,067)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 66
Announced 59
Effort 4 / 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 down 90% on the market, supply 50% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Dungeon Crawler
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Dystopian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Dungeon Crawler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action RPG
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Pixel Graphics
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 92% positive over 24,671 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $4.8k, 1 in 4 over $28k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 5 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Time ManagementFair35 devs · median $7.0k · 44 announced
  2. + GamblingFair16 devs · median $7.0k · 17 announced
  3. + DiceFair24 devs · median $5.1k · 32 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair29 devs · median $2.3k · 38 announced
  5. + Local Co-OpFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 60 announced
  6. + ZombiesFair65 devs · median $1.0k · 74 announced
  7. + Word GameFair12 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  8. + ThrillerFair45 devs · median $716 · 46 announced
  9. + Walking SimulatorFair59 devs · median $479 · 62 announced
  10. + Score AttackFair29 devs · median $479 · 33 announced
  11. + MMORPGPoor odds10 devs · median $144k · 80 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds8 devs · median $55k · 30 announced

All 175 pairs on the Dungeon Crawler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

AI LIMIT 2025 · $24M Going Under 2020 · $1.6M Neon Chrome 2016 · $245k Let's! Revolution! 2023 · $190k Mary Skelter Finale 2023 · $177k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
AI LIMIT $34.99 22,833 92% 685k $24M (exactly $23,967,800) Sense Games
Going Under older $19.99 2,702 92% 81k $1.6M (exactly $1,620,389) Aggro Crab
Neon Chrome older $14.99 545 93% 16k $245k (exactly $245,086) 10tons Ltd
Let's! Revolution! older $19.99 317 92% 9.5k $190k (exactly $190,105) BUCK Games, Antfood
Mary Skelter Finale older $49.99 118 70% 3.5k $177k (exactly $176,965) Compile Heart, Idea Factory, Ghostlight… (Compile Heart, Idea Factory, Ghostlight LTD)
Deepest Chamber: Resurrection older $12.99 419 79% 13k $163k (exactly $163,284) Balcony Softworks
Reignbreaker $9.99 444 75% 13k $133k (exactly $133,067) Studio Fizbin
Mega City Force older $14.99 289 76% 8.7k $130k (exactly $129,963) Undreamed Games
Deified · EA $14.99 281 96% 8.4k $126k (exactly $126,366) Unexpected
Power Chord older $19.99 170 71% 5.1k $102k (exactly $101,949) Big Blue Bubble
Abyss Of Pleasure $11.80 139 88% 4.2k $49k (exactly $49,206) Jpegsama
CashGrab: Refunded · EA $6.99 206 87% 6.2k $43k (exactly $43,198) Grabba Guild Games LLC
Last Vanguard $14.99 77 81% 2.3k $35k (exactly $34,627) Cool Tapir Studios
Slay or Fall $6.99 147 89% 4.4k $31k (exactly $30,826) ostsergey
Subterranauts $4.99 190 76% 5.7k $28k (exactly $28,443) Red Basket Games
Navicula Meatus $5.99 130 96% 3.9k $23k (exactly $23,361) Torgomind
Colony 37 · EA $2.99 224 95% 6.7k $20k (exactly $20,093) Valen

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