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Should I ship an Incremental Roguelite?
Roguelite + Incremental
Of 215 developers who shipped an Incremental 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.. 358 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×275 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 358 games are announced against 162 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) |
| Top 25% | $9.6k (exactly $9,590) |
| Top 5% | $131k (exactly $130,636) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 215 |
| Released games | 309 |
| Announced | 358 |
| 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 20% on the market, supply 195% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 4%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Incremental
- effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Roguelite, Incremental; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Idler
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Colorful
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 42,155 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 57 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 358 games are announced against 162 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Roguelite with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-TimeFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + TypingFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DogsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + DwarvesPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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 |
| | How Many Dudes? | $14.99 | 2,948 89% | 88k | $1.3M (exactly $1,325,716) | Butterscotch Shenanigans | |
| | Sir, We Have an Orc Problem | $9.99 | 4,123 86% | 124k | $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663) | Mumpitz Games | |
| | Swag and Sorcery | older | $12.99 | 2,318 54% | 70k | $903k (exactly $903,325) | Lazy Bear Games, Uroboros Games |
| | Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator | older | $19.99 | 827 92% | 25k | $496k (exactly $495,952) | Strange Scaffold |
| | Astro Prospector | $4.99 | 3,223 91% | 97k | $482k (exactly $482,483) | Incrementalist | |
| | 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 | |
| | Talented | $5.99 | 1,475 91% | 44k | $265k (exactly $265,058) | TurtleFox Games | |
| | 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 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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