Do I ship it?

Games › Local Multiplayer › Local Multiplayer + Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Roguelike?

Local Multiplayer + Roguelike

Of 51 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer 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.. 105 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×4.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×2265 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 105 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 105 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Multiplayer + Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 51
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $32k → $18k → $3.8k → $16k → $3.0k → $748 → $1.6k (still earning) → $539 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Multiplayer + Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 51
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,096)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $14,840)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,075,862)
Developers, 2 yr 51
Released games 181
Announced 105
Effort 4 / 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 down 70% on the market, supply 30% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Local Multiplayer
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Roguelike
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Local Multiplayer, Roguelike; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Co-Op, Action Roguelike
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 17,604 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 $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 105 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + HockeyStrong odds11 devs · median $3.0k · 12 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair61 devs · median $5.8k · 64 announced
  3. + Action RPGFair43 devs · median $5.5k · 56 announced
  4. + Hex GridFair12 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  5. + ModernFair24 devs · median $3.6k · 16 announced
  6. + WargameFair28 devs · median $3.0k · 28 announced
  7. + TennisFair18 devs · median $2.3k · 10 announced
  8. + Point & ClickFair14 devs · median $2.0k · 8 announced
  9. + Artificial IntelligenceFair26 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  10. + Football (American)Fair13 devs · median $1.8k · 4 announced
  11. + SportsFair196 devs · median $1.6k · 208 announced
  12. + RunnerFair23 devs · median $1.3k · 30 announced

All 174 pairs on the Local Multiplayer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

UNO 2017 · $13M For The King II 2023 · $9.5M Wizard of Legend 2018 · $8.3M Barony 2015 · $7.6M Rotwood 2026 · $6.7M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
UNO older $9.99 42,019 70% 1.3M $13M (exactly $12,593,094) Ubisoft Entertainment
For The King II older $24.99 12,708 71% 381k $9.5M (exactly $9,527,188) IronOak Games
Wizard of Legend older $15.99 17,322 91% 520k $8.3M (exactly $8,309,363) Contingent99
Barony older $19.99 12,714 90% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,624,586) Turning Wheel LLC
Rotwood $29.99 7,459 74% 224k $6.7M (exactly $6,710,862) Klei Entertainment
Spelunky older $14.99 14,676 92% 440k $6.6M (exactly $6,599,797) Mossmouth
Lost Castle / 失落城堡 older $9.99 18,417 87% 553k $5.5M (exactly $5,519,575) Hunter Studio
Nuclear Throne older $11.99 15,047 96% 451k $5.4M (exactly $5,412,406) Vlambeer
UFO 50 $24.99 7,134 94% 214k $5.3M (exactly $5,348,360) Mossmouth
Ember Knights older $19.99 6,065 93% 182k $3.6M (exactly $3,637,180) Doom Turtle
Unrailed 2: Back on Track $19.99 1,794 88% 54k $1.1M (exactly $1,075,862) Indoor Astronaut
Shape Shifter: Formations $14.99 269 91% 8.1k $121k (exactly $120,969) Castec Studios
Clutchtime™: Basketball Deckbuilder $19.99 180 77% 5.4k $108k (exactly $107,946) Bigosaur
Final Knight · EA $13.99 180 77% 5.4k $76k (exactly $75,546) 2oclocksoft
Hangtime! $9.99 250 77% 7.5k $75k (exactly $74,925) Leo Langlois
I'm No Demonlord $8.99 163 84% 4.9k $44k (exactly $43,961) NiaoWu Studio
Asterogues $14.99 83 90% 2.5k $37k (exactly $37,325) pipotchi600
Rogue Fist $8.99 92 89% 2.8k $25k (exactly $24,812) Wetcoat Games

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