Do I ship it?

Games › Roguelite › Roguelite + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Roguelite?

Roguelite + Idler

Of 166 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 235 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 235 games are announced against 128 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 85% on the market, 235 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelite + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 166
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.2k → $18k → $5.8k → $1.8k → $987 → $1.6k → $987 (still earning) → $2.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelite + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 166
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,468)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $11,534)
Top 5% $178k (exactly $177,618)
Developers, 2 yr 166
Released games 262
Announced 235
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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 85% on the market, supply 205% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Roguelite, Idler; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Incremental, Strategy, Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 63,153 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $170k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 47 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 235 games are announced against 128 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Roguelite with a different second tag, 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. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.3k · 22 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair23 devs · median $1.1k · 23 announced
  8. + Score AttackFair344 devs · median $719 · 450 announced
  9. + Point & ClickFair94 devs · median $600 · 121 announced
  10. + LogicFair144 devs · median $599 · 143 announced
  11. + DwarvesPoor odds21 devs · median $74k · 24 announced
  12. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $50k · 31 announced

All 229 pairs on the Roguelite page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

BALL x PIT 2025 · $11M Scritchy Scratchy 2026 · $3.2M Bills Must Be Paid 2026 · $2.1M (the) Gnorp Apologue 2023 · $2.0M Sir, We Have an Orc Problem 2026 · $1.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BALL x PIT $14.99 24,714 95% 741k $11M (exactly $11,113,886) Kenny Sun and Friends
Scritchy Scratchy $6.99 15,245 94% 457k $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) Lunch Money Games
Bills Must Be Paid $6.99 9,928 96% 298k $2.1M (exactly $2,081,902) Rike Games
(the) Gnorp Apologue older $6.99 9,613 94% 288k $2.0M (exactly $2,015,846) Myco
Sir, We Have an Orc Problem $9.99 4,123 86% 124k $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663) Mumpitz Games
Multiverse Loot Hunter $11.99 2,585 80% 78k $930k (exactly $929,824) 游戏养家工作室
Swag and Sorcery older $12.99 2,318 54% 70k $903k (exactly $903,325) Lazy Bear Games, Uroboros Games
Galactic Mining Corp older $12.99 868 84% 26k $338k (exactly $338,260) Windybeard
Dwarf Eats Mountain $9.99 1,114 80% 33k $334k (exactly $333,866) Green Wizard
👑 Idle Calibur 👑（选王之剑） older $7.99 1,242 85% 37k $298k (exactly $297,707) 绝汪
Desktop Defender $4.99 1,757 92% 53k $263k (exactly $263,023) Conradical Games
Nomad Idle $9.99 852 64% 26k $255k (exactly $255,344) The Fox Knocks
Timber Rush $4.99 1,490 84% 45k $223k (exactly $223,053) Allerton Apps
Maktala: Slime Lootfest $4.99 1,345 79% 40k $201k (exactly $201,346) Samharia Studios

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