Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Modern
Should I ship a Modern-Day Roguelike?
Roguelike + Modern
Of 46 developers who shipped a Modern-Day 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.. 61 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $630, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $60k, ×126 the market median. Revenue is up 185% on the market; 61 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $628 (exactly $628) |
| Top 25% | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) |
| Top 5% | $60k (exactly $60,004) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 46 |
| Released games | 81 |
| Announced | 61 |
| 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 up 185% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Roguelike; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, RPG, Strategy
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 15,156 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. All of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Roguelike with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + JRPGFair
- + 6DOFFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + VampiresFair
- + DogsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + SuperheroFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
Comparable games
Yet Another Zombie Survivors 2026 · $6.4M 
Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead 2023 · $322k 
Everlasting Flowers - Where there is a will, there is a way 2024 · $255k 
Drone Sector 2026 · EA · $187k 
Tokyo Valkyries 2026 · $60k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Yet Another Zombie Survivors | $14.99 | 14,123 91% | 424k | $6.4M (exactly $6,351,113) | Awesome Games Studio | |
| | Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead | older | $19.99 | 537 86% | 16k | $322k (exactly $322,039) | CleverRaven |
| | Everlasting Flowers - Where there is a will, there is a way | older | $29.99 | 283 86% | 8.5k | $255k (exactly $254,615) | sprite, flowers.studio |
| | Drone Sector | · EA | $16.99 | 366 89% | 11k | $187k (exactly $186,550) | Icosphere |
| | Tokyo Valkyries | $22.99 | 87 75% | 2.6k | $60k (exactly $60,004) | qureate | |
 | Calculate It | · EA older | $6.99 | 264 87% | 7.9k | $55k (exactly $55,361) | SVGames |
 | 2 Fights in 2 Tight Spaces | · EA | $12.99 | 115 84% | 3.5k | $45k (exactly $44,816) | Ground Shatter |
 | Natsuno-Kanata: Beyond Summer | older | $10.99 | 127 91% | 3.8k | $42k (exactly $41,872) | Kazuhide Oka |
 | Stackflow | $6.99 | 195 88% | 5.9k | $41k (exactly $40,892) | Caue Ferrareto | |
 | AbsentedAge: Squarebound | older | $12.99 | 67 91% | 2.0k | $26k (exactly $26,110) | terunon's Lab |
 | Typing Break | $8.99 | 96 80% | 2.9k | $26k (exactly $25,891) | Tholus | |
 | Pawffice | $11.99 | 35 88% | 1.1k | $13k (exactly $12,590) | 飞天海牛工作室 | |
 | Pegs X Stickers | $5.99 | 65 87% | 2.0k | $12k (exactly $11,680) | Mister Morris Games, Tyler Ray Games | |
 | BeatRider | $11.99 | 32 53% | 960 | $12k (exactly $11,510) | 无限电玩, Combo X Camp | |
 | Demon Corporation: Onboarding | $6.99 | 42 95% | 1.3k | $8.8k (exactly $8,807) | A Shrine of Ludens |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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