Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Underground
Should I ship an Underground Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Underground
Only 14 developers shipped an Underground 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, Shadow Labyrinth, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 35 more are announced, ×5.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×6.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×525 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 35 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) |
| Top 25% | $42k (exactly $41,822) |
| Top 5% | $249k (exactly $249,217) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 14 |
| Released games | 40 |
| Announced | 35 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 25% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, 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
- Underground
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Metroidvania; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action-Adventure, 2D Platformer
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 920 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.1k. 6 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different setting or mood, 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
HAAK 2022 · $1.7M 
Frogmonster 2024 · $351k 
Shadow Labyrinth 2025 · $249k 
The Siege and the Sandfox 2025 · $81k 
PERFECT CELLS PROJECT 2024 · $68k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | HAAK | older | $17.99 | 3,149 89% | 94k | $1.7M (exactly $1,699,515) | Blingame |
| | Frogmonster | older | $19.99 | 585 96% | 18k | $351k (exactly $350,824) | Ben Jungwirth |
| | Shadow Labyrinth | $29.99 | 277 54% | 8.3k | $249k (exactly $249,217) | Bandai Namco Studios Inc. | |
| | The Siege and the Sandfox | $14.99 | 180 64% | 5.4k | $81k (exactly $80,946) | Cardboard Sword | |
| | PERFECT CELLS PROJECT | older | $9.99 | 226 79% | 6.8k | $68k (exactly $67,732) | ShinshiMoustache |
 | Lord Ambermaze | $14.99 | 131 91% | 3.9k | $59k (exactly $58,911) | Potata Company | |
 | Elmarion: the Lost Temple | $14.99 | 93 67% | 2.8k | $42k (exactly $41,822) | Fleon Games | |
 | Myastere -Ruins of Deazniff- | older | $19.99 | 26 57% | 780 | $16k (exactly $15,592) | SUCCESS Corporation, Studio Saizensen C… (SUCCESS Corporation, Studio Saizensen Co., Ltd.) |
 | Rusty Rangers | $14.99 | 27 88% | 810 | $12k (exactly $12,142) | Fantastica! | |
 | Thread | older | $10.99 | 24 83% | 720 | $7.9k (exactly $7,913) | Medow |
 | Quarion | $0.99 | 166 94% | 5.0k | $4.9k (exactly $4,930) | Zejoant | |
 | Souno's Curse | $9.99 | 10 60% | 300 | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) | Kiro Team | |
 | Plungeez | $9.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) | Team Zeroth | |
 | Blast Hopper | $5.99 | 12 66% | 360 | $2.2k (exactly $2,156) | Heartscape Games | |
 | Nothing Beyond This Point | $4.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) | Dieuwt |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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