Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Sci-fi

Of 135 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 261 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $960, ×2.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $660k, ×1390 the market median. Revenue is up 65% on the market; 261 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 65% on the market, 261 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 135
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $8.4k → $2.7k → $599 → $1.2k → $1.8k → $1.2k (still earning) → $330 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 135
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $959 (exactly $959)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $13,518)
Top 5% $660k (exactly $660,270)
Developers, 2 yr 135
Released games 338
Announced 261
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 65% on the market, supply as many developers as 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
Sci-fi
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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 Action, RPG, Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 28,619 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 $960, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $660k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 77 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 261 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 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

Lethal Company 2023 · EA · $123M Deadzone: Rogue 2025 · $11M Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2018 · $10M Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion 2025 · $3.9M Dungeon of the ENDLESS™ 2014 · $3.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lethal Company · EA older $9.99 411,550 97% 12M $123M (exactly $123,341,535) Zeekerss
Deadzone: Rogue $24.99 15,041 82% 451k $11M (exactly $11,276,238) Prophecy Games
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus older $29.99 11,279 91% 338k $10M (exactly $10,147,716) Bulwark Studios
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion $69.99 1,838 63% 55k $3.9M (exactly $3,859,249) Marvelous Inc.
Dungeon of the ENDLESS™ older $11.99 9,419 87% 283k $3.4M (exactly $3,388,014) AMPLITUDE Studios
Killsquad older $29.99 2,839 71% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,554,248) Novarama
NEOVERSE older $19.99 2,882 84% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,728,335) Tinogames Inc.
ENDLESS Dungeon™ - Definitive Edition older $14.99 2,953 64% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,327,964) AMPLITUDE Studios
CRYMACHINA older $59.99 725 85% 22k $1.3M (exactly $1,304,782) FURYU Corporation
Stellar Tactics $24.99 1,666 77% 50k $1.2M (exactly $1,249,000) Don Wilkins
Murky Divers $8.99 3,981 87% 119k $1.1M (exactly $1,073,676) Embers
Mohrta $19.99 1,482 91% 44k $889k (exactly $888,755) Scumhead, Osiol
Metal Bringer $19.99 1,109 87% 33k $665k (exactly $665,067) ALPHAWING Inc.
Relic Hunters Legend $19.99 1,101 65% 33k $660k (exactly $660,270) Rogue Snail
Approaching Infinity $17.99 723 95% 22k $390k (exactly $390,203) IBOL
Sketchy's Contract $8.99 1,027 83% 31k $277k (exactly $276,982) Dimensionless Games
MeteoriteFall $12.99 651 78% 20k $254k (exactly $253,695) ST studio

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