Do I ship it?

Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Gambling

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Gambling Roguelike?

Roguelike + Gambling

Of 121 developers who shipped a Gambling Roguelike 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.. 236 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $1.5M, ×3210 the market median. Revenue is up 110% on the market; 236 games are announced against 90 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 110% on the market, 236 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelike + Gambling
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 121
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $5.7k → $449 → $2.6k → $718 → $2.2k (still earning) → $898 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelike + Gambling: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 121
Bottom 30% $298 (exactly $298)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,200)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,868)
Top 5% $1.5M (exactly $1,524,768)
Developers, 2 yr 121
Released games 159
Announced 236
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $5.00

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 110% on the market, supply 190% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Roguelike
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Gambling
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Roguelike, Gambling; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Strategy, Deckbuilding
Price point
$5.00 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $5.00.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 80,086 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $1.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 236 games are announced against 90 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Roguelike with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + JRPGFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  2. + 6DOFFair15 devs · median $4.7k · 7 announced
  3. + Grand StrategyFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  4. + VampiresFair59 devs · median $3.1k · 58 announced
  5. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.9k · 17 announced
  6. + Artificial IntelligenceFair60 devs · median $1.8k · 85 announced
  7. + SuperheroFair12 devs · median $1.1k · 17 announced
  8. + IdlerFair160 devs · median $1.0k · 206 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair841 devs · median $959 · 1,066 announced
  10. + Walking SimulatorFair29 devs · median $718 · 28 announced
  11. + 2D PlatformerFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  12. + Traditional RoguelikeFair247 devs · median $599 · 314 announced

All 231 pairs on the Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Buckshot Roulette 2024 · $9.9M CloverPit 2025 · $7.4M Scritchy Scratchy 2026 · $3.2M Nubby's Number Factory 2025 · $2.7M Sol Cesto 2026 · $2.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Buckshot Roulette older $2.99 110,042 95% 3.3M $9.9M (exactly $9,870,767) Mike Klubnika
CloverPit $9.99 24,710 90% 741k $7.4M (exactly $7,405,587) Panik Arcade
Scritchy Scratchy $6.99 15,245 94% 457k $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) Lunch Money Games
Nubby's Number Factory $4.99 18,138 97% 544k $2.7M (exactly $2,715,259) MogDogBlog Productions
Sol Cesto $13.99 4,838 91% 145k $2.0M (exactly $2,030,509) Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospir… (Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospirale)
Slots & Daggers $7.99 7,421 93% 223k $1.8M (exactly $1,778,814) Friedemann
Dungeon Clawler $14.99 3,716 88% 111k $1.7M (exactly $1,671,085) Stray Fawn Studio
RACCOIN: Coin Pusher Roguelike $11.99 4,239 82% 127k $1.5M (exactly $1,524,768) Doraccoon
Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers older $14.99 2,988 81% 90k $1.3M (exactly $1,343,704) Purple Moss Collectors
Tharsis older $14.99 1,438 71% 43k $647k (exactly $646,669) Choice Provisions
Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator $19.99 513 91% 15k $308k (exactly $307,646) Strange Scaffold
Bingle Bingle $14.99 666 80% 20k $300k (exactly $299,500) Knitting Games
Insider Trading $12.89 600 79% 18k $232k (exactly $232,020) Naiive

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