Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Top-Down Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Top-Down Shooter Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Top-Down Shooter

Of 62 developers who shipped a Top-Down Shooter 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.. 144 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $990, ×2.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×301 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 144 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 144 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Top-Down Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 62
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.1k → $5.2k → $449 → $2.9k → $299 → $1.6k → $449 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Top-Down Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 62
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $987 (exactly $987)
Top 25% $6.3k (exactly $6,296)
Top 5% $143k (exactly $142,941)
Developers, 2 yr 62
Released games 189
Announced 144
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 95% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Top-Down Shooter
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, Top-Down Shooter; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 3D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 7,163 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $990, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 144 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 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

Darksiders Genesis 2019 · $9.3M Tiny Rogues 2022 · EA · $3.1M Killsquad 2021 · $2.6M Wizard with a Gun 2023 · $2.2M Pathogenic 2026 · $1.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Darksiders Genesis older $29.99 10,379 82% 311k $9.3M (exactly $9,337,986) Airship Syndicate
Tiny Rogues · EA older $9.99 10,244 96% 307k $3.1M (exactly $3,070,127) RubyDev
Killsquad older $29.99 2,839 71% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,554,248) Novarama
Wizard with a Gun older $24.99 2,932 80% 88k $2.2M (exactly $2,198,120) Galvanic Games
Pathogenic $9.99 4,145 92% 124k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,256) Aberrant Labs
Blazing Beaks older $14.99 2,043 84% 61k $919k (exactly $918,737) Applava
Soundfall older $29.99 996 73% 30k $896k (exactly $896,101) Drastic Games
Relic Hunters Legend $19.99 1,101 65% 33k $660k (exactly $660,270) Rogue Snail
Metaverse Keeper / 元能失控 · EA older $14.99 588 77% 18k $264k (exactly $264,424) Sparks Games
[REDACTED] $24.99 328 81% 9.8k $246k (exactly $245,902) Striking Distance Studios
DunHero $8.99 530 89% 16k $143k (exactly $142,941) Dev Kacper
Hand of Fate: Hordes · EA $11.99 312 79% 9.4k $112k (exactly $112,226) Spitfire Interactive
Schism $11.99 140 96% 4.2k $50k (exactly $50,358) Fami
DUNGEON RAZE $2.99 458 85% 14k $41k (exactly $41,083) KOTARO YOSHIDA
CosmicGalaxyWars $19.99 34 76% 1.0k $20k (exactly $20,390) YOSHITSUNA INC.
Cthulhu's Reach: Devil Reef $9.99 68 80% 2.0k $20k (exactly $20,380) The Fine Arc
Ascendant $9.99 47 70% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,086) Imagisphere

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