Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Mining

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mining Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Mining

Of 27 developers who shipped a Mining 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.. 53 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $490k, ×1045 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 53 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 53 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Mining
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $719 → $176k → $1.8k → $9.0k → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Mining: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,260)
Top 25% $6.1k (exactly $6,110)
Top 5% $497k (exactly $496,552)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 64
Announced 53
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 70% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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
Mining
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, Mining; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Crafting, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 2,843 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $6.1k, 1 in 20 over $490k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 7 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 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

UnderMine 2020 · $5.6M Return from Core 2025 · $826k My Little Universe 2023 · $675k UnderMine 2 2025 · EA · $497k Prodigal 2020 · $263k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
UnderMine older $19.99 9,284 90% 279k $5.6M (exactly $5,567,615) Thorium
Return from Core $16.99 1,620 75% 49k $826k (exactly $825,714) 顽核社 FuncoreClub
My Little Universe older $14.99 1,500 89% 45k $675k (exactly $674,550) Estoty
UnderMine 2 · EA $19.99 828 75% 25k $497k (exactly $496,552) Thorium
Prodigal older $14.99 584 91% 18k $263k (exactly $262,625) Colorgrave
9th Dawn III older $15.99 501 87% 15k $240k (exactly $240,330) Valorware
Below the Stone · EA older $14.99 391 83% 12k $176k (exactly $175,833) Strollart
Starground · EA older $13.99 157 78% 4.7k $66k (exactly $65,893) Big Boy Games
Museum No.9 $9.99 208 75% 6.2k $62k (exactly $62,338) YaoYi Technology
The Sealed Ampoule older $19.99 56 80% 1.7k $34k (exactly $33,583) CAVYHOUSE
The Traveller Tale $19.99 26 69% 780 $16k (exactly $15,592) Mystic Dream Studio's
Fallen Angel: Hell Survival $19.99 15 86% 450 $9.0k (exactly $8,996) Strongfinger
DigWorld $4.99 43 81% 1.3k $6.4k (exactly $6,437) Edgar IX
Voidloop $5.99 34 94% 1.0k $6.1k (exactly $6,110) IndieGameStudio
Astaryn: RPG Idler $3.99 19 63% 570 $2.3k (exactly $2,274) Karl Eriksson
Terra Pit $2.00 36 86% 1.1k $2.2k (exactly $2,160) S-Grade, Yuliy Oneshko
Darkest Mine $4.99 14 92% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,096) Crazy Rooster Games

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