Games › Economy › Economy + Roguelike
Should I ship a Roguelike Economy game?
Economy + Roguelike
Of 120 developers who shipped a Roguelike Economy game 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.. 183 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×342 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 183 games are announced against 88 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) |
| Top 25% | $8.8k (exactly $8,814) |
| Top 5% | $215k (exactly $214,693) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 120 |
| Released games | 174 |
| Announced | 183 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 flat on the market, supply 175% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, 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
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy, Roguelike; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Management, Roguelite
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 23,645 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 183 games are announced against 88 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
Dwarf Fortress 2022 · $26M 
Scritchy Scratchy 2026 · $3.2M 
(the) Gnorp Apologue 2023 · $2.0M 
Renowned Explorers: International Society 2015 · $1.4M 
Soulash 2 2023 · EA · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dwarf Fortress | older | $29.99 | 29,303 94% | 879k | $26M (exactly $26,363,909) | Bay 12 Games |
| | Scritchy Scratchy | $6.99 | 15,245 94% | 457k | $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) | Lunch Money Games | |
| | (the) Gnorp Apologue | older | $6.99 | 9,613 94% | 288k | $2.0M (exactly $2,015,846) | Myco |
| | Renowned Explorers: International Society | older | $19.99 | 2,307 91% | 69k | $1.4M (exactly $1,383,508) | Abbey Games |
| | Soulash 2 | · EA older | $18.99 | 2,382 85% | 71k | $1.4M (exactly $1,357,025) | Artur Smiarowski |
 | As Far As The Eye | older | $24.99 | 1,640 73% | 49k | $1.2M (exactly $1,229,508) | Unexpected |
 | Max Gentlemen Sexy Business! | older | $19.99 | 1,492 92% | 45k | $895k (exactly $894,752) | The Men Who Wear Many Hats |
 | Coal LLC | $14.99 | 1,343 92% | 40k | $604k (exactly $603,947) | Bye Bye Ocean | |
 | Gnomes | $9.99 | 1,757 94% | 53k | $527k (exactly $526,573) | DYSTOPIAN | |
 | Lost But Found | $6.99 | 2,316 71% | 69k | $486k (exactly $485,665) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
 | Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator | $19.99 | 513 91% | 15k | $308k (exactly $307,646) | Strange Scaffold | |
 | Here Comes The Swarm | · EA | $19.99 | 358 84% | 11k | $215k (exactly $214,693) | CableHook Games |
 | Military Incremental Complex | $9.99 | 692 82% | 21k | $207k (exactly $207,392) | Space Kraken Studios | |
 | Tower Networking Inc. | · EA | $19.99 | 317 95% | 9.5k | $190k (exactly $190,105) | Pocosia Studios |
 | EcoGnomix | $19.99 | 216 74% | 6.5k | $130k (exactly $129,535) | Irox Games | |
 | ROGUE LIGHT DECK BUILDER | $3.99 | 888 94% | 27k | $106k (exactly $106,294) | Gil Lawson |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.