Games › FPS › FPS + Dungeon Crawler
Should I ship a Dungeon Crawler FPS?
FPS + Dungeon Crawler
Of 80 developers who shipped a Dungeon Crawler FPS 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.. 135 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×0.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 135 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper, while revenue is down 65% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $8.4k (exactly $8,392) |
| Top 5% | $1.3M (exactly $1,268,965) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 80 |
| Released games | 180 |
| Announced | 135 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 65% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- FPS
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Dungeon Crawler
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- FPS, Dungeon Crawler; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Adventure
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 37,390 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 45 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 135 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + GamblingFair
- + FaithFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RunnerLong shot
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Gunfire Reborn | older | $19.99 | 88,536 93% | 2.7M | $53M (exactly $53,095,039) | Gunfire Reborn Studio |
| | Deadzone: Rogue | $24.99 | 15,041 82% | 451k | $11M (exactly $11,276,238) | Prophecy Games | |
| | SULFUR | · EA | $24.99 | 9,641 87% | 289k | $7.2M (exactly $7,227,858) | Perfect Random |
| | Abyssus | $24.99 | 5,014 84% | 150k | $3.8M (exactly $3,758,996) | DoubleMoose Games | |
| | Ziggurat | older | $14.99 | 2,835 86% | 85k | $1.3M (exactly $1,274,900) | Milkstone Studios |
| | Labyrinth Of The Demon King | $19.99 | 2,116 92% | 63k | $1.3M (exactly $1,268,965) | J. R. Hudepohl | |
| | COMPOUND | older | $19.99 | 2,057 97% | 62k | $1.2M (exactly $1,233,583) | Bevan McKechnie |
| | Delver | older | $14.99 | 2,366 88% | 71k | $1.1M (exactly $1,063,990) | Chad Cuddigan, Joshua Skelton |
| | Ziggurat 2 | older | $24.99 | 1,292 90% | 39k | $969k (exactly $968,612) | Milkstone Studios |
| | Slasher's Keep | older | $13.99 | 2,126 83% | 64k | $892k (exactly $892,282) | Damian Schloter |
| | Mohrta | $19.99 | 1,482 91% | 44k | $889k (exactly $888,755) | Scumhead, Osiol | |
| | Sin Spire | $9.99 | 1,580 88% | 47k | $474k (exactly $473,526) | Krasue Games | |
| | Nightmare Knight ~Sacred Maiden & Fallen Magic~ | $17.99 | 557 86% | 17k | $301k (exactly $300,613) | orzPINEz | |
| | The Adventures of Sir Kicksalot | $9.99 | 999 98% | 30k | $299k (exactly $299,400) | Stéphane Le Roy | |
| | Soulslinger: Envoy of Death | $19.99 | 472 63% | 14k | $283k (exactly $283,058) | Elder Games | |
| | LIFE EFFECT Survival | · EA | $14.99 | 488 85% | 15k | $219k (exactly $219,454) | LIFE EFFECT |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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