Do I ship it?

GamesManagementManagement + Roguelite

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roguelite Management game?

Management + Roguelite

Of 295 developers who shipped a Roguelite Management game 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.. 607 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.8k, ×6.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $660k, ×1058 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 607 games are announced against 200 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 607 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management + Roguelite
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 295
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $13k → $28k → $6.2k → $9.4k → $13k → $6.0k → $4.2k (still earning) → $748 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management + Roguelite: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 295
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $3.8k (exactly $3,777)
Top 25% $33k (exactly $32,735)
Top 5% $664k (exactly $664,468)
Developers, 2 yr 295
Released games 507
Announced 607
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 50% on the market, supply 105% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Management
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Roguelite
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Management, Roguelite; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Simulation
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 47,594 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $3.8k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $660k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 6 in 10 of the 109 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 607 games are announced against 200 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomeFair21 devs · median $64k · 23 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair195 devs · median $17k · 225 announced
  3. + WesternFair18 devs · median $13k · 22 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair114 devs · median $12k · 154 announced
  5. + JRPGFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair22 devs · median $7.4k · 15 announced
  7. + RhythmFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 24 announced
  8. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $5.0k · 54 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  10. + DwarvesFair13 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  11. + 3D FighterFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair611 devs · median $1.9k · 893 announced

All 214 pairs on the Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
DAVE THE DIVER older $19.99 142,662 96% 4.3M $86M (exactly $85,554,401) MINTROCKET
Lobotomy Corporation | Monster Management Simulation older $24.99 52,522 94% 1.6M $39M (exactly $39,375,743) ProjectMoon
Against the Storm older $29.99 33,271 94% 998k $30M (exactly $29,933,919) Eremite Games
PlateUp! older $19.99 18,500 94% 555k $11M (exactly $11,094,450) It's happening
Moonlighter older $19.99 17,286 82% 519k $10M (exactly $10,366,414) Digital Sun
Homeworld 3 older $59.99 5,436 38% 163k $9.8M (exactly $9,783,169) Blackbird Interactive
Stacklands older $7.99 29,244 96% 877k $7.0M (exactly $7,009,787) Sokpop Collective
Cultist Simulator older $19.99 10,496 82% 315k $6.3M (exactly $6,294,451) Weather Factory
Bomber Crew older $15.99 10,416 88% 312k $5.0M (exactly $4,996,555) Runner Duck
Jalopy older $14.99 9,020 78% 271k $4.1M (exactly $4,056,294) Minskworks
Scritchy Scratchy $6.99 15,245 94% 457k $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) Lunch Money Games
Pax Autocratica · EA $29.99 3,202 91% 96k $2.9M (exactly $2,880,839) Multiverse
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault $29.99 3,146 80% 94k $2.8M (exactly $2,830,456) Digital Sun
Bills Must Be Paid $6.99 9,928 96% 298k $2.1M (exactly $2,081,902) Rike Games
Star Birds · EA $19.99 2,990 92% 90k $1.8M (exactly $1,793,103) Toukana Interactive
Nordhold $19.99 2,875 87% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,724,137) StunForge
Drill Core $19.99 2,130 84% 64k $1.3M (exactly $1,277,361) Hungry Couch Games
Sir, We Have an Orc Problem $9.99 4,123 86% 124k $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663) Mumpitz Games
Tabletop Tavern $19.99 2,049 89% 61k $1.2M (exactly $1,228,785) TJ
EverSiege: Untold Ages $19.99 1,906 68% 57k $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028) Tindalos Interactive

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