Do I ship it?

GamesDungeon CrawlerDungeon Crawler + Female Protagonist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Female-Led Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Female Protagonist

Of 186 developers who shipped a Female-Led 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.. 242 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $4.9k, ×10 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×710 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 242 games are announced against 101 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 242 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Female Protagonist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 186
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $13k → $9.7k → $9.0k → $1.6k → $12k → $4.9k (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Female Protagonist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 186
Bottom 30% $748 (exactly $748)
Median $4.9k (exactly $4,946)
Top 25% $33k (exactly $32,735)
Top 5% $337k (exactly $337,031)
Developers, 2 yr 186
Released games 500
Announced 242
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 30% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Female Protagonist
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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 RPG, Adventure, JRPG
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 157,513 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $750, median $4.9k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $330k.

3 in 10 developers made under $750. 8 in 10 of the 99 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 242 games are announced against 101 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hades II $29.99 114,419 95% 3.4M $103M (exactly $102,942,774) Supergiant Games
AI LIMIT $34.99 22,833 92% 685k $24M (exactly $23,967,800) Sense Games
Crypt of the NecroDancer older $14.99 23,593 95% 708k $11M (exactly $10,609,772) Brace Yourself Games
Echoes of Aincrad $69.99 4,108 47% 123k $8.6M (exactly $8,625,568) Game Studio Inc.
Battle Chasers: Nightwar older $29.99 5,573 87% 167k $5.0M (exactly $5,014,028) Airship Syndicate
Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness older $59.99 2,650 79% 80k $4.8M (exactly $4,769,205) Chime Corporation
Hand of Fate 2 older $29.99 5,273 84% 158k $4.7M (exactly $4,744,118) Defiant Development
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition older $19.99 7,859 90% 236k $4.7M (exactly $4,713,042) Beamdog
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale older $19.99 6,684 95% 201k $4.0M (exactly $4,008,395) EasyGameStation
Black Book older $24.99 5,306 93% 159k $4.0M (exactly $3,977,908) Morteshka
Cinderia · EA $17.99 4,763 88% 143k $2.6M (exactly $2,570,591) MyACG Studio
Psychopomp GOLD $8.99 4,884 97% 147k $1.3M (exactly $1,317,215) Fading Club
Garden of Witches $18.99 1,978 92% 59k $1.1M (exactly $1,126,867) Team Tapas
Scarlet Idol $7.99 2,586 66% 78k $620k (exactly $619,864) 山雨工作室
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die $24.99 764 84% 23k $573k (exactly $572,771) Stormteller Games
Labyrinth of Touhou Tri -The Dreaming Girls & The Mysterious Orbs- $19.99 616 82% 18k $369k (exactly $369,415) Nise-Eikoku Studio
Savara $19.99 562 87% 17k $337k (exactly $337,031) Doryah Games

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