Do I ship it?

GamesDungeon CrawlerDungeon Crawler + Romance

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Romance Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Romance

Of 36 developers who shipped a Romance 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.. 35 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.3k, ×13 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×244 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 35 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 13.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 35 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Romance
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $23k → $4.9k → $6.9k → $5.9k → $16k → $1.1k (still earning) → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Romance: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Median $6.3k (exactly $6,296)
Top 25% $38k (exactly $38,381)
Top 5% $116k (exactly $116,087)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 85
Announced 35
Effort 4 / 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 down 40% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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
Romance
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $21.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $21.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 1,482 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $6.3k, 1 in 4 over $38k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 8 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel older $39.99 5,131 94% 154k $6.2M (exactly $6,155,661) Nihon Falcom
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ older $59.99 1,328 86% 40k $2.4M (exactly $2,390,002) Nihon Falcom
Boyfriend Dungeon older $19.99 2,105 91% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,262,368) Kitfox Games
Mary Skelter: Nightmares older $24.99 541 82% 16k $406k (exactly $405,588) Idea Factory
Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars older $19.99 628 78% 19k $377k (exactly $376,612) Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Magical Diary: Horse Hall older $14.99 708 93% 21k $318k (exactly $318,388) Hanako Games
Blades of Jianghu: Ballad of Wind and Dust older $18.99 472 83% 14k $269k (exactly $268,898) 永恆艾莉絲工坊
Prodigal older $14.99 584 91% 18k $263k (exactly $262,625) Colorgrave
Sword and Fairy 2 older $5.99 1,237 88% 37k $222k (exactly $222,289) SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT
Gray Haven : Witch's Garden $21.99 319 76% 9.6k $210k (exactly $210,444) NINEHECTARE
MagicShop2 $15.99 242 88% 7.3k $116k (exactly $116,087) FireArmGames
The Brave of Boner and the Demon of Halphas $13.99 248 95% 7.4k $104k (exactly $104,086) AVANTGARDE
Shadow Lotus $14.99 136 70% 4.1k $61k (exactly $61,159) Entropy Digital Entertainment
Lord Ambermaze $14.99 131 91% 3.9k $59k (exactly $58,911) Potata Company
I'm Not Sex King $10.99 147 76% 4.4k $48k (exactly $48,466) Sex King
Nimbit Frontier · EA $13.99 113 97% 3.4k $47k (exactly $47,426) Megasploot
Shujinkou $59.99 26 92% 780 $47k (exactly $46,792) Rice Games Inc
Rewrite Harvest festa! $19.99 64 96% 1.9k $38k (exactly $38,381) VisualArts/Key
Dungeon with Girl $13.99 56 83% 1.7k $24k (exactly $23,503) tadatada stupid

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