Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Local Multiplayer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Local Multiplayer

Of 29 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer 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.. 23 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×4.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×717 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 23 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 23 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Local Multiplayer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.6k → $3.0k → $899 → $6.0k → $3.6k → $600 (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Local Multiplayer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,096)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $10,518)
Top 5% $341k (exactly $340,630)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 93
Announced 23
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 85% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Local Multiplayer
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, Local Multiplayer; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Local Co-Op, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, 3D
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 74% positive over 8,387 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 $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Wizard of Legend 2018 · $8.3M Barony 2015 · $7.6M Rotwood 2026 · $6.7M Lost Castle / 失落城堡 2016 · $5.5M Gauntlet™ Slayer Edition 2014 · $4.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Wizard of Legend older $15.99 17,322 91% 520k $8.3M (exactly $8,309,363) Contingent99
Barony older $19.99 12,714 90% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,624,586) Turning Wheel LLC
Rotwood $29.99 7,459 74% 224k $6.7M (exactly $6,710,862) Klei Entertainment
Lost Castle / 失落城堡 older $9.99 18,417 87% 553k $5.5M (exactly $5,519,575) Hunter Studio
Gauntlet™ Slayer Edition older $19.99 6,690 81% 201k $4.0M (exactly $4,011,993) Arrowhead Game Studios
Ember Knights older $19.99 6,065 93% 182k $3.6M (exactly $3,637,180) Doom Turtle
Warhammer: Chaosbane older $29.99 3,274 60% 98k $2.9M (exactly $2,945,618) Eko Software
Crawl older $14.99 5,625 95% 169k $2.5M (exactly $2,529,562) Powerhoof
Hammerwatch older $9.99 3,668 88% 110k $1.1M (exactly $1,099,300) Crackshell
Patch Quest older $14.99 2,058 94% 62k $925k (exactly $925,483) Lychee Game Labs
DuneCrawl $19.99 568 74% 17k $341k (exactly $340,630) Alientrap
Isle of Reveries $19.99 87 91% 2.6k $52k (exactly $52,174) desertcucco
Rogue Fist $8.99 92 89% 2.8k $25k (exactly $24,812) Wetcoat Games
Box Knight $14.99 48 93% 1.4k $22k (exactly $21,586) We Made A Thing Studios
CTHULOOT $14.99 32 81% 960 $14k (exactly $14,390) Pixelnest Studio, Headbang Club
M.O.O.D.S. $12.99 29 82% 870 $11k (exactly $11,301) StickyStoneStudio
Oceanhorn: Chronos Dungeon $8.99 39 64% 1.2k $11k (exactly $10,518) Cornfox & Brothers Ltd.
Magical Hellhound Lust · EA $19.99 13 53% 390 $7.8k (exactly $7,796) Mildaponno
Phantom Relics $9.99 20 70% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Dex Games Studio

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