Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Noir

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Noir Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Noir

Of 21 developers who shipped a Noir 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.. 36 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $300, ×0.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 36 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper, while revenue is down 35% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 36 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Noir
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $38k → $1.5k → $25k → $178 → $300 → $299 (still earning) → $360 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Noir: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,158)
Top 5% $57k (exactly $56,943)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 45
Announced 36
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Noir
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action Roguelike, Roguelite, Strategy
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.90 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Dark, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.90 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 452 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $300, 1 in 4 over $2.1k, 1 in 20 over $56k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Dungeon Crawler with a different setting or mood, 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

Lost2 2022 · $663k HeistGeist 2024 · $69k Labyrinth of Zangetsu 2023 · $63k Shana - Priestess of Tona 2025 · $57k Floor44 2023 · $38k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lost2 older $15.99 1,382 81% 41k $663k (exactly $662,945) DSGame
HeistGeist $19.90 116 95% 3.5k $69k (exactly $69,252) Doublequote Studio
Labyrinth of Zangetsu older $29.99 70 70% 2.1k $63k (exactly $62,979) ACQUIRE Corp., KaeruPanda Inc.
Shana - Priestess of Tona $9.99 190 74% 5.7k $57k (exactly $56,943) Lustration Team
Floor44 older $9.99 126 70% 3.8k $38k (exactly $37,762) Glen Games
Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire $19.99 41 70% 1.2k $25k (exactly $24,588) Schell Games
Cthulhu's Reach: Devil Reef $9.99 68 80% 2.0k $20k (exactly $20,380) The Fine Arc
TTV3 older $0.99 150 86% 4.5k $4.5k (exactly $4,455) Walter Machado
RAZE $9.99 14 100% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) RAZE CLUB
Lost In Ferry VR older $9.99 13 84% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) LZR GAMES
Afterlight Catacombs $11.99 6 100% 180 $2.2k (exactly $2,158) Crit42 Studio
Invisible Room $4.99 10 50% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Invisible Rabbit
虚妄之言 Hollow Life And INsincere Words $8.99 3 66% 90 $809 (exactly $809) 暴躁猫工作室
CARAVAN in the MAJIN WORLD $11.99 1 0% 30 $360 (exactly $360) PubMangaS
The Night of Escape $3.99 3 0% 90 $359 (exactly $359) LiTang

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