Do I ship it?

Games › Roguelite › Roguelite + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Roguelite?

Roguelite + Hacking

Of 29 developers who shipped a Hacking 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.. 50 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×554 the market median. Revenue is up 675% on the market; 50 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 675% on the market, 50 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelite + Hacking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.0k → $1.9k → $9.4k → $748 → $88k → $4.8k (still earning) → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelite + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $748 (exactly $748)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,697)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $14,222)
Top 5% $263k (exactly $263,023)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 52
Announced 50
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 up 675% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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.

Roguelite
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Hacking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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
Roguelite; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Strategy, Action Roguelike
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Difficult, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 4,032 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $750, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $260k.

3 in 10 developers made under $750. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Roguelite with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-TimeFair11 devs · median $11k · 14 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair24 devs · median $9.3k · 28 announced
  3. + VampiresFair60 devs · median $4.8k · 62 announced
  4. + TypingFair29 devs · median $2.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Grand StrategyFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  6. + IdlerFair166 devs · median $1.5k · 235 announced
  7. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.3k · 22 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair23 devs · median $1.1k · 23 announced
  9. + Score AttackFair344 devs · median $719 · 450 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair94 devs · median $600 · 121 announced
  11. + LogicFair144 devs · median $599 · 143 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds21 devs · median $74k · 24 announced

All 229 pairs on the Roguelite page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Deadlink 2023 · $2.2M Duskers 2016 · $1.4M Welcome to the Game III 2026 · $389k Desktop Defender 2025 · $263k Quantum Protocol 2020 · $244k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Deadlink older $24.99 2,871 90% 86k $2.2M (exactly $2,152,389) Gruby Entertainment
Duskers older $19.99 2,304 90% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,381,709) Misfits Attic
Welcome to the Game III $19.99 648 78% 19k $389k (exactly $388,606) Reflect Studios
Desktop Defender $4.99 1,757 92% 53k $263k (exactly $263,023) Conradical Games
Quantum Protocol older $12.99 625 90% 19k $244k (exactly $243,562) Kaio Meris
Net.Attack() - Code or Die! $7.99 510 80% 15k $122k (exactly $122,247) ByteRockers' Games
Minutescape $5.99 546 74% 16k $98k (exactly $98,116) Molter
ATOMINE older $9.99 324 74% 9.7k $97k (exactly $97,103) Broken Arms Games
Into The Grid · EA $14.99 195 83% 5.9k $88k (exactly $87,692) Flatline Studios
Conglomerate 451 older $19.99 145 62% 4.4k $87k (exactly $86,956) RuneHeads
868-BACK $19.99 122 98% 3.7k $73k (exactly $73,163) Michael Brough
Lia: Hacking Destiny $14.99 92 96% 2.8k $41k (exactly $41,372) Orube Game Studio
Hacky $4.99 95 93% 2.9k $14k (exactly $14,222) Cuddle Code
NET.CRAWL $9.99 46 95% 1.4k $14k (exactly $13,786) Everyone is Solid
Veiled Edge · EA $14.99 21 95% 630 $9.4k (exactly $9,444) ONW Studio Inc,

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