Do I ship it?

Games › Dungeon Crawler › Dungeon Crawler + Underground

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underground Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Underground

Of 74 developers who shipped an Underground 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.. 135 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×331 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 135 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 135 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Underground
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 74
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $11k → $1.5k → $538 → $1.8k → $2.2k → $2.2k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Underground: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 74
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 25% $9.7k (exactly $9,712)
Top 5% $157k (exactly $157,053)
Developers, 2 yr 74
Released games 202
Announced 135
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 down 10% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Underground
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 RPG, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 5,462 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $9.7k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 7 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 135 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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

War for the Overworld 2015 · $5.8M Dungeons of Blood and Dream 2024 · $668k Spark in the Dark 2026 · EA · $598k Shroom and Gloom 2026 · EA · $439k Arx Fatalis 2007 · $366k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
War for the Overworld older $29.99 6,495 85% 195k $5.8M (exactly $5,843,552) Brightrock Games
Dungeons of Blood and Dream $18.99 1,173 93% 35k $668k (exactly $668,258) Lori Vornoy
Spark in the Dark · EA $16.99 1,174 87% 35k $598k (exactly $598,388) Stellar Fish
Shroom and Gloom · EA $14.99 977 91% 29k $439k (exactly $439,357) Team Lazerbeam
Arx Fatalis older $4.99 2,443 87% 73k $366k (exactly $365,717) Arkane Studios
Time Walker: Dark World older $4.99 1,434 85% 43k $215k (exactly $214,670) Heartfun
Below the Stone · EA older $14.99 391 83% 12k $176k (exactly $175,833) Strollart
Deepest Chamber: Resurrection older $12.99 419 79% 13k $163k (exactly $163,284) Balcony Softworks
Goblin Dungeons $17.99 291 83% 8.7k $157k (exactly $157,053) Loolust
The Knight Girl And Dungeons $11.99 397 67% 12k $143k (exactly $142,801) こねこぼくし
Path of the Abyss $6.99 664 92% 20k $139k (exactly $139,241) Suzuki Suzuzou
Caput Mortum $11.99 355 94% 11k $128k (exactly $127,694) WildArts Games
Cralon $19.99 192 71% 5.8k $115k (exactly $115,142) Pithead Studio
Lord Ambermaze $14.99 131 91% 3.9k $59k (exactly $58,911) Potata Company
Dverghold · EA $16.99 108 95% 3.2k $55k (exactly $55,048) Team Sorgarn

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