Do I ship it?

GamesDungeon CrawlerDungeon Crawler + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Platformer Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Platformer

Of 65 developers who shipped a Platformer 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.. 140 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $92k, ×196 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 140 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 140 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 65
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.0k → $1.8k → $1.1k → $750 → $1.8k → $539 → $1.9k (still earning) → $179 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 65
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $539 (exactly $539)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,395)
Top 5% $93k (exactly $92,907)
Developers, 2 yr 65
Released games 240
Announced 140
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 35% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Platformer
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, Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 3,512 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 $540, 1 in 4 over $5.3k, 1 in 20 over $92k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. Nearly all of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 140 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Neon Abyss older $31.49 19,709 86% 591k $19M (exactly $18,619,092) Veewo Games
Dungreed older $9.99 8,988 93% 270k $2.7M (exactly $2,693,704) TEAM HORAY
Ys Origin older $19.99 3,116 92% 93k $1.9M (exactly $1,868,665) Nihon Falcom
Crypt Custodian older $19.99 2,927 96% 88k $1.8M (exactly $1,755,322) Kyle Thompson
Dungeons of Hinterberg older $22.99 2,403 93% 72k $1.7M (exactly $1,657,349) Microbird Games
Frontier Hunter: Erza’s Wheel of Fortune older $24.99 1,914 82% 57k $1.4M (exactly $1,434,926) IceSitruuna
Hylics 2 older $14.99 3,158 96% 95k $1.4M (exactly $1,420,153) Mason Lindroth
Exit the Gungeon older $9.99 3,400 74% 102k $1.0M (exactly $1,018,980) Dodge Roll, Singlecore
Regions Of Ruin older $11.99 1,972 84% 59k $709k (exactly $709,328) Gameclaw Studio
It Lurks Below older $19.99 1,168 81% 35k $700k (exactly $700,450) Graybeard Games
Goblin Vyke: The Thief Tycoon $14.99 1,397 70% 42k $628k (exactly $628,231) Art Thieves
Bloodthief $19.99 1,017 95% 31k $610k (exactly $609,895) Blargis
Planet Lust $14.99 335 76% 10k $151k (exactly $150,650) Skullgear
Nakara $9.99 310 91% 9.3k $93k (exactly $92,907) R3dspike
PlatyGuard: Swarm Slayer $14.99 117 74% 3.5k $53k (exactly $52,615) ChillyRoom
Tales Of Wakana $11.99 104 56% 3.1k $37k (exactly $37,409) OrangeTiger
Last Vanguard $14.99 77 81% 2.3k $35k (exactly $34,627) Cool Tapir Studios
Mythrealm · EA $14.99 33 87% 990 $15k (exactly $14,840) Delta Video Games
PETS $4.99 95 89% 2.9k $14k (exactly $14,222) Save& Studio
Rusty Rangers $14.99 27 88% 810 $12k (exactly $12,142) Fantastica!

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