Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Robots

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Robot Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Robots

Of 23 developers who shipped a Robot 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.. 41 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $390, ×0.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 41 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper, while revenue is up 15% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 41 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Robots
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.5k → $29k → $1.6k → $120 → $838 → $20k (still earning) → $390 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Robots: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $390 (exactly $390)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $20,390)
Top 5% $219k (exactly $219,454)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 75
Announced 41
Effort 5 / 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 up 15% on the market, supply 35% fewer 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
Robots
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Dungeon Crawler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelite, Strategy
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Difficult, 2D, Colorful
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 83% positive over 2,528 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 $390, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 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

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2018 · $10M Cogmind 2017 · EA · $1.2M Metal Bringer 2025 · $665k LIFE EFFECT Survival 2026 · EA · $219k Survivors of the Dawn 2023 · EA · $166k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus older $29.99 11,279 91% 338k $10M (exactly $10,147,716) Bulwark Studios
Cogmind · EA older $24.99 1,560 95% 47k $1.2M (exactly $1,169,532) Grid Sage Games
Metal Bringer $19.99 1,109 87% 33k $665k (exactly $665,067) ALPHAWING Inc.
LIFE EFFECT Survival · EA $14.99 488 85% 15k $219k (exactly $219,454) LIFE EFFECT
Survivors of the Dawn · EA older $7.99 694 73% 21k $166k (exactly $166,352) indieGiant
Net.Attack() - Code or Die! $7.99 510 80% 15k $122k (exactly $122,247) ByteRockers' Games
Tech Blast $39.99 90 92% 2.7k $108k (exactly $107,973) Galactic Geckon
Dreadhunter · EA older $24.99 141 77% 4.2k $106k (exactly $105,708) Trickster Arts
Twilight Wars $14.99 229 74% 6.9k $103k (exactly $102,981) Comrade Bear Games
Beat Slayer older $19.99 80 88% 2.4k $48k (exactly $47,976) ByteRockers' Games
CosmicGalaxyWars $19.99 34 76% 1.0k $20k (exactly $20,390) YOSHITSUNA INC.
Rocket Squad: Infinity $14.99 31 22% 930 $14k (exactly $13,941) Jackto Studios
Engine Eternal $9.99 15 93% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Absolutely Cookage
Alchemickal $5.99 15 93% 450 $2.7k (exactly $2,696) rodbot
Below Benni's $3.99 7 42% 210 $838 (exactly $838) Moonbit

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