Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Hidden Object

Of 67 developers who shipped a Hidden Object 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.. 93 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $480, level with the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×227 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 93 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 93 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 67
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $1.4k → $955 → $628 → $987 → $359 → $1.5k (still earning) → $270 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 67
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $2.3k (exactly $2,338)
Top 5% $108k (exactly $107,973)
Developers, 2 yr 67
Released games 190
Announced 93
Effort 4 / 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 35% on the market, supply 25% fewer 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
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

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, Hidden Object; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 4,181 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $480, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. Nearly all of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 93 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Dungeon Crawler with a different second tag, 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

Emissary Zero 2025 · $724k 灵墟 2023 · $312k LIFE EFFECT Survival 2026 · EA · $219k BodyRecords 2025 · EA · $122k Tech Blast 2025 · $108k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Emissary Zero $8.99 2,683 83% 80k $724k (exactly $723,605) Rone Vine
灵墟 older $10.99 946 86% 28k $312k (exactly $311,896) HappyTall Game
LIFE EFFECT Survival · EA $14.99 488 85% 15k $219k (exactly $219,454) LIFE EFFECT
BodyRecords · EA $6.99 581 70% 17k $122k (exactly $121,836) MIROWIN
Tech Blast $39.99 90 92% 2.7k $108k (exactly $107,973) Galactic Geckon
Time Lock VR 2 older $12.99 170 88% 5.1k $66k (exactly $66,249) WR-VRG
恶魔迷宫 | Evil Maze older $1.99 807 76% 24k $48k (exactly $48,178) ZOV GAME STUDIO
Conquistadorio older $9.99 143 63% 4.3k $43k (exactly $42,857) Morion Studio
Cave Digger 2 Dig Harder older $15.99 81 88% 2.4k $39k (exactly $38,856) VRKiwi
Slime Dungeon · EA older $29.99 36 77% 1.1k $32k (exactly $32,389) Irinkutor
Vessel $6.99 116 17% 3.5k $24k (exactly $24,325) OJStudio
DungeonCrawlers $8.99 77 68% 2.3k $21k (exactly $20,767) KusanohitoCreative
Castle Dark $19.99 19 94% 570 $11k (exactly $11,394) Wolfs Moon Studios
Backrooms: Facility Unknown · EA $7.99 34 55% 1.0k $8.2k (exactly $8,150) Triple E Games
Slendrina Remake $3.99 65 63% 2.0k $7.8k (exactly $7,780) GearMech
COLLAPSE COMPANY · EA $8.99 28 89% 840 $7.6k (exactly $7,552) VOLT-TECKS GAME STUDIO

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