Do I ship it?

GamesDungeon CrawlerDungeon Crawler + Twin Stick Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Twin Stick Shooter Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Twin Stick Shooter

Of 32 developers who shipped a Twin Stick 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.. 89 more are announced, ×5.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $60k, ×128 the market median. Revenue is up 315% on the market; 89 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 315% on the market, 89 announced, ×5.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Twin Stick Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.3k → $30k → $8.6k → $3.0k → $210 → $14k → $6.0k (still earning) → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Twin Stick Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,156)
Top 25% $7.8k (exactly $7,792)
Top 5% $61k (exactly $60,884)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 137
Announced 89
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 up 315% 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
Twin Stick 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, Twin Stick Shooter; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, Pixel Graphics
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 79% positive over 5,642 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $7.7k, 1 in 20 over $60k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 89 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.6 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Enter the Gungeon older $14.99 79,392 95% 2.4M $36M (exactly $35,702,582) Dodge Roll
Darksiders Genesis older $29.99 10,379 82% 311k $9.3M (exactly $9,337,986) Airship Syndicate
Dead Estate older $14.99 5,778 95% 173k $2.6M (exactly $2,598,367) Milkbar Lads
Killsquad older $29.99 2,839 71% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,554,248) Novarama
Hell Clock $19.99 3,535 82% 106k $2.1M (exactly $2,119,940) Rogue Snail
Star of Providence older $14.99 3,178 96% 95k $1.4M (exactly $1,429,147) Team D-13
ENDLESS Dungeon™ - Definitive Edition older $14.99 2,953 64% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,327,964) AMPLITUDE Studios
Patch Quest older $14.99 2,058 94% 62k $925k (exactly $925,483) Lychee Game Labs
Blazing Beaks older $14.99 2,043 84% 61k $919k (exactly $918,737) Applava
Revita older $16.99 1,734 83% 52k $884k (exactly $883,820) BenStar
Relic Hunters Legend $19.99 1,101 65% 33k $660k (exactly $660,270) Rogue Snail
Ogre Chambers 2222 $7.99 254 96% 7.6k $61k (exactly $60,884) ANTENNA GAMES
MineGeon: Renegades $19.99 93 63% 2.8k $56k (exactly $55,772) Kickstone Studio
DUNGEON RAZE $2.99 458 85% 14k $41k (exactly $41,083) KOTARO YOSHIDA
Cthulhu's Reach: Devil Reef $9.99 68 80% 2.0k $20k (exactly $20,380) The Fine Arc
Solomon's Boneyard: Hideous Retro Edition $7.99 60 91% 1.8k $14k (exactly $14,382) Raptisoft
M.O.O.D.S. $12.99 29 82% 870 $11k (exactly $11,301) StickyStoneStudio
Rightfully, Beary Arms $9.99 26 96% 780 $7.8k (exactly $7,792) Daylight Basement Studio LLC
Skulltide $12.99 18 66% 540 $7.0k (exactly $7,015) The Planar Danse

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