Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Match 3
Should I ship a Match 3 Roguelike?
Roguelike + Match 3
Of 35 developers who shipped a Match 3 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.. 74 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $810, ×1.7 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $74k, ×156 the market median. Revenue is up 705% on the market; 74 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $807 (exactly $807) |
| Top 25% | $9.4k (exactly $9,352) |
| Top 5% | $74k (exactly $74,216) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 35 |
| Released games | 68 |
| Announced | 74 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 up 705% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 3%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Roguelike, Match 3; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Roguelite
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cartoony
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 1,781 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Roguelike with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + JRPGFair
- + 6DOFFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + VampiresFair
- + DogsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + SuperheroFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
Comparable games
The Legend of Bum-Bo 2019 · $2.5M 
Ironcast 2015 · $348k 
10,000,000 2013 · $271k 
Dogpile 2025 · $212k 
You Must Build A Boat 2015 · $125k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Legend of Bum-Bo | older | $14.99 | 5,654 80% | 170k | $2.5M (exactly $2,542,604) | Edmund McMillen, James Interactive, Rid… (Edmund McMillen, James Interactive, Ridiculon) |
| | Ironcast | older | $14.99 | 774 72% | 23k | $348k (exactly $348,068) | Dreadbit |
| | 10,000,000 | older | $4.99 | 1,807 90% | 54k | $271k (exactly $270,508) | EightyEightGames |
| | Dogpile | $9.99 | 708 95% | 21k | $212k (exactly $212,188) | Studio Folly, Toot Games, Foot | |
| | You Must Build A Boat | older | $4.99 | 836 81% | 25k | $125k (exactly $125,149) | EightyEightGames |
 | Infinite Tao | older | $3.99 | 852 79% | 26k | $102k (exactly $101,984) | insomnia |
 | Lucky Hunter | $5.99 | 413 89% | 12k | $74k (exactly $74,216) | 159 Studio | |
 | ANTHEM#9 | $14.99 | 125 87% | 3.8k | $56k (exactly $56,212) | koeda | |
 | Neon Village | $9.99 | 146 86% | 4.4k | $44k (exactly $43,756) | Encraft | |
 | Legends of Gems | $8.99 | 139 81% | 4.2k | $37k (exactly $37,488) | 南京西木优洛网络科技有限公司 | |
 | Kaamos: Puzzle Roguelike | $9.99 | 73 87% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $21,878) | Pepperbox Studios | |
 | Roguematch : The Extraplanar Invasion | $14.99 | 33 84% | 990 | $15k (exactly $14,840) | Starstruck Games | |
 | Gem and Tarot | $4.99 | 68 100% | 2.0k | $10k (exactly $10,180) | SHEN DING | |
 | 转生魔塔 | $11.99 | 26 88% | 780 | $9.4k (exactly $9,352) | Zeros | |
 | Slime Soup | $4.99 | 50 90% | 1.5k | $7.5k (exactly $7,485) | VANDERMAESEN GAMES |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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