Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 36 developers who shipped a Shoot 'Em Up 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.. 44 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $360, ×0.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $60k, ×128 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 44 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 44 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Shoot 'Em Up
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: $925k → $2.4k → $1.1k → $899 → $449 → $148 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $360 (exactly $360)
Top 25% $3.9k (exactly $3,896)
Top 5% $61k (exactly $60,884)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 122
Announced 44
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 30% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Shoot 'Em Up
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, Shoot 'Em Up; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelike
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 3,257 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $360, 1 in 4 over $3.8k, 1 in 20 over $60k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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

Dead Estate 2021 · $2.6M Star of Providence 2017 · $1.4M DR LIVESEY ROM AND DEATH EDITION 2023 · $1.1M Patch Quest 2023 · $925k I Am Legion: Stand Survivors 2025 · $656k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dead Estate older $14.99 5,778 95% 173k $2.6M (exactly $2,598,367) Milkbar Lads
Star of Providence older $14.99 3,178 96% 95k $1.4M (exactly $1,429,147) Team D-13
DR LIVESEY ROM AND DEATH EDITION older $2.99 12,437 94% 373k $1.1M (exactly $1,115,599) Agafonoff
Patch Quest older $14.99 2,058 94% 62k $925k (exactly $925,483) Lychee Game Labs
I Am Legion: Stand Survivors $8.99 2,432 82% 73k $656k (exactly $655,910) JA Game Studio
Spell Disk older $14.99 965 89% 29k $434k (exactly $433,960) Sunpeak Games
The Crackpet Show older $16.99 701 86% 21k $357k (exactly $357,300) Vixa Games
Mega City Force older $14.99 289 76% 8.7k $130k (exactly $129,963) Undreamed Games
Starward Rogue older $11.99 286 89% 8.6k $103k (exactly $102,874) Arcen Games
Ether Loop older $11.99 261 68% 7.8k $94k (exactly $93,882) Moon Lens
Ogre Chambers 2222 $7.99 254 96% 7.6k $61k (exactly $60,884) ANTENNA GAMES
Schism $11.99 140 96% 4.2k $50k (exactly $50,358) Fami
Don't Die, Collect Loot · EA $9.99 161 91% 4.8k $48k (exactly $48,252) Dan Marchand
Psionic Awake $4.99 184 63% 5.5k $28k (exactly $27,545) Mighty Cat
Obliterator-X $5.99 34 85% 1.0k $6.1k (exactly $6,110) Webbysoft
Cordels & Spells $9.99 15 86% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Supernova Games
Meowmunitions $12.99 10 50% 300 $3.9k (exactly $3,897) Pete Karesisto
LootMage · EA $9.99 13 84% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) CurlyMango
Seeker Quest: The Creature Collector $6.99 14 100% 420 $2.9k (exactly $2,936) Jestercraft

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