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Should I ship a Dwarf Roguelite?
Roguelite + Dwarves
Of 21 developers who shipped a Dwarf Roguelite 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.. 24 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $74k, ×118 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $12M, ×20127 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 24 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $3.7k (exactly $3,711) |
|---|---|
| Median | $74k (exactly $73,814) |
| Top 25% | $527k (exactly $526,573) |
| Top 5% | $13M (exactly $12,639,885) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 43 |
| Announced | 24 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 down 60% on the market, supply 220% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Roguelite; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action Roguelike, Roguelike, Action
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 79,525 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $3.8k. 2 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Roguelite with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-TimeFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + TypingFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DogsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
Comparable games
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 2018 · $82M 
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor 2025 · $18M 
Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core 2026 · EA · $13M 
Absolum 2025 · $7.0M 
Thea 2: The Shattering 2019 · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Warhammer: Vermintide 2 | older | $29.99 | 91,013 84% | 2.7M | $82M (exactly $81,884,396) | Fatshark |
| | Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor | $12.99 | 46,354 86% | 1.4M | $18M (exactly $18,064,154) | Funday Games | |
| | Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core | · EA | $29.99 | 14,049 60% | 421k | $13M (exactly $12,639,885) | Ghost Ship Games |
| | Absolum | $24.99 | 9,399 91% | 282k | $7.0M (exactly $7,046,430) | Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, Supamonks | |
| | Thea 2: The Shattering | older | $24.99 | 1,892 79% | 57k | $1.4M (exactly $1,418,432) | MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio |
 | Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot | $14.99 | 2,588 82% | 78k | $1.2M (exactly $1,163,824) | Hamma Studios | |
 | Dwarven Realms | $9.99 | 2,850 81% | 86k | $854k (exactly $854,145) | Crater Studios | |
 | Rampage Knights | older | $12.99 | 2,179 93% | 65k | $849k (exactly $849,156) | Rake in Grass |
 | Gnomes | $9.99 | 1,757 94% | 53k | $527k (exactly $526,573) | DYSTOPIAN | |
 | Desktop Dungeons | older | $14.99 | 1,134 88% | 34k | $510k (exactly $509,960) | QCF Design |
 | Dwarf Eats Mountain | $9.99 | 1,114 80% | 33k | $334k (exactly $333,866) | Green Wizard | |
 | Stonewards | · EA | $9.99 | 806 94% | 24k | $242k (exactly $241,558) | Banana Tiger Studio |
 | Hold The Mine | · EA | $14.99 | 338 83% | 10k | $152k (exactly $151,999) | Hookaria Games |
 | Union of Gnomes | $14.99 | 270 80% | 8.1k | $121k (exactly $121,419) | Hoolignomes |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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