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Should I ship a Mystery Dungeon Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Mystery Dungeon
Only 13 developers shipped a Mystery Dungeon Metroidvania in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Maid of Salvation, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 27 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $12k, ×26 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $93k, ×198 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 27 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
|---|---|
| Median | $12k (exactly $12,142) |
| Top 25% | $42k (exactly $41,822) |
| Top 5% | $94k (exactly $93,987) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 35 |
| Announced | 27 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $14.99 |
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 45% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Metroidvania
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Mystery Dungeon
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Metroidvania, Mystery Dungeon; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Action RPG
- Price point
- $14.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 774 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ParkourPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + VampiresPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
Reventure 2019 · $3.1M 
Maid of Salvation 2025 · $94k 
Mask of Mists 2020 · $77k 
Paper Animal Adventure 2025 · EA · $63k 
Lord Ambermaze 2025 · $59k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Reventure | older | $12.34 | 8,451 95% | 254k | $3.1M (exactly $3,128,560) | Pixelatto |
| | Maid of Salvation | $14.99 | 209 88% | 6.3k | $94k (exactly $93,987) | ORANGE POPCORN | |
| | Mask of Mists | older | $14.99 | 171 85% | 5.1k | $77k (exactly $76,899) | 9 Eyes Game Studio |
| | Paper Animal Adventure | · EA | $14.99 | 139 95% | 4.2k | $63k (exactly $62,508) | Cuddling Raccoons Studio |
| | Lord Ambermaze | $14.99 | 131 91% | 3.9k | $59k (exactly $58,911) | Potata Company | |
 | Happy Souls | older | $39.99 | 37 75% | 1.1k | $44k (exactly $44,389) | Galactic Geckon |
 | Elmarion: the Lost Temple | $14.99 | 93 67% | 2.8k | $42k (exactly $41,822) | Fleon Games | |
 | Sudoku Mansion | $14.99 | 69 98% | 2.1k | $31k (exactly $31,029) | Vault Door Studios | |
 | Lost in the World of Succubi | $13.99 | 66 81% | 2.0k | $28k (exactly $27,700) | Shimofumi-ya | |
 | Rusty Rangers | $14.99 | 27 88% | 810 | $12k (exactly $12,142) | Fantastica! | |
 | Nightfall Empress | $14.99 | 19 84% | 570 | $8.5k (exactly $8,544) | SEEP | |
 | Quest of Dungeloria | $4.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $2.4k (exactly $2,395) | From Future Games | |
 | Duil | $11.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | JL studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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