Do I ship it?

GamesImmersive SimImmersive Sim + Dungeon Crawler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dungeon Crawler Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Dungeon Crawler

Of 42 developers who shipped a Dungeon Crawler Immersive Sim 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.. 71 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480, ×0.3 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 71 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper, while revenue is down 30% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 71 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Dungeon Crawler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 42
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.8k → $1.3k → $16k → $1.9k → $210 → $480k → $1.5k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Dungeon Crawler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 42
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $480 (exactly $480)
Top 25% $36k (exactly $35,664)
Top 5% $834k (exactly $834,022)
Developers, 2 yr 42
Released games 113
Announced 71
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 30% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Immersive Sim
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Dungeon Crawler
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim, Dungeon Crawler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action RPG, Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 10,990 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $480, 1 in 4 over $35k, 1 in 20 over $830k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 7 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 71 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Immersive Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds112 devs · median $63k · 58 announced
  2. + Trading Card GameStrong odds18 devs · median $30k · 13 announced
  3. + MinigamesStrong odds15 devs · median $24k · 11 announced
  4. + WesternStrong odds17 devs · median $4.4k · 14 announced
  5. + BoxingStrong odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 12 announced
  6. + Job SimulatorFair152 devs · median $20k · 180 announced
  7. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $17k · 10 announced
  8. + Dating SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  9. + RomanceFair254 devs · median $12k · 266 announced
  10. + LGBTQ+Fair87 devs · median $11k · 93 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  12. + Split ScreenFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced

All 219 pairs on the Immersive Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Barony older $19.99 12,714 90% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,624,586) Turning Wheel LLC
JIANGHU CHRONICLES $17.99 2,046 70% 61k $1.1M (exactly $1,104,226) 一品阁
Subliminal $9.99 3,535 74% 106k $1.1M (exactly $1,059,440) Accidental Studios
Grimlord $29.99 927 78% 28k $834k (exactly $834,022) Metalcat Interactive Co.,Ltd
Blackthorn Arena: Reforged $24.99 882 66% 26k $661k (exactly $661,235) PersonaeGame Studio
Underworld Ascendant older $29.99 697 41% 21k $627k (exactly $627,091) OtherSide Entertainment
Sex, Please older $5.99 3,243 74% 97k $583k (exactly $582,767) Evil Boobs Cult
System Shock: Enhanced Edition older $9.99 1,781 91% 53k $534k (exactly $533,766) Looking Glass Studios, Nightdive Studios
Devil Spire Falls · EA $14.99 1,068 94% 32k $480k (exactly $480,280) Ithiro Sumi
Arx Fatalis older $4.99 2,443 87% 73k $366k (exactly $365,717) Arkane Studios
消失的航班,还有她她她!Lost in the secret! $19.99 602 89% 18k $361k (exactly $361,019) Humongous Pictures
Monomyth · EA $19.99 579 91% 17k $347k (exactly $347,226) Rat Tower
The Adventures of Sir Kicksalot $9.99 999 98% 30k $299k (exactly $299,400) Stéphane Le Roy
Cralon $19.99 192 71% 5.8k $115k (exactly $115,142) Pithead Studio
Dino Ramen Express · EA $14.99 160 72% 4.8k $72k (exactly $71,952) ANTIGames

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