Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Puzzle Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Platformer Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Puzzle Platformer

Of 44 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 68 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $65k, ×138 the market median. Revenue is up 115% on the market; 68 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 115% on the market, 68 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Puzzle Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 44
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.5k → $240 → $478 → $3.6k → $449 → $899 → $6.9k (still earning) → $270 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Puzzle Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 44
Bottom 30% $178 (exactly $178)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,599)
Top 5% $65k (exactly $65,367)
Developers, 2 yr 44
Released games 153
Announced 68
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 up 115% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Puzzle 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, Puzzle Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, 2D Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 70% positive over 3,462 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $450, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $65k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. Nearly all of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 68 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 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

Moncage 2021 · $2.3M Dungeons of Hinterberg 2024 · $1.7M Scarlet Idol 2026 · $620k KAKU: Ancient Seal 2024 · $604k Zup! 4 2017 · $175k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Moncage older $14.99 5,127 92% 154k $2.3M (exactly $2,305,612) Optillusion
Dungeons of Hinterberg older $22.99 2,403 93% 72k $1.7M (exactly $1,657,349) Microbird Games
Scarlet Idol $7.99 2,586 66% 78k $620k (exactly $619,864) 山雨工作室
KAKU: Ancient Seal older $24.99 806 79% 24k $604k (exactly $604,258) BINGOBELL
Zup! 4 older $1.99 2,939 90% 88k $175k (exactly $175,458) Quiet River
Planet Lust $14.99 335 76% 10k $151k (exactly $150,650) Skullgear
Batbarian: Testament of the Primordials older $14.99 210 80% 6.3k $94k (exactly $94,437) Unspeakable Pixels
Dungeons of Dreadrock older $5.99 513 94% 15k $92k (exactly $92,186) Prof. Dr. Christoph Minnameier
Spider Queen cave older $18.99 159 40% 4.8k $91k (exactly $90,582) 帅宅快乐屋
Mask of Mists older $14.99 171 85% 5.1k $77k (exactly $76,899) 9 Eyes Game Studio
He Who Watches $19.99 109 96% 3.3k $65k (exactly $65,367) Bobby Vanden
Green Ember: Helmer in the Dragon Tomb $16.99 32 96% 960 $16k (exactly $16,310) Brazen Games, Longtreader Games
CTHULOOT $14.99 32 81% 960 $14k (exactly $14,390) Pixelnest Studio, Headbang Club
PETS $4.99 95 89% 2.9k $14k (exactly $14,222) Save& Studio
The Black Labyrinth $4.99 81 79% 2.4k $12k (exactly $12,126) mozu field
Nightfall Empress $14.99 19 84% 570 $8.5k (exactly $8,544) SEEP
Blockmind · EA $1.99 115 78% 3.5k $6.9k (exactly $6,866) Quacky Games
KunSpace $2.10 58 96% 1.7k $3.7k (exactly $3,654) DeadManLi

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