Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Music
Should I ship a Music Roguelike?
Roguelike + Music
Only 12 developers shipped a Music Roguelike 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, Ratatan, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 37 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $7.2k, ×15 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.8M, ×3865 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 37 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.2k (exactly $7,193) |
| Top 25% | $30k (exactly $29,987) |
| Top 5% | $1.8M (exactly $1,836,015) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 36 |
| Announced | 37 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 25% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, 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
- Price point
- $12.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 2,824 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Crypt of the NecroDancer | older | $14.99 | 23,593 95% | 708k | $11M (exactly $10,609,772) | Brace Yourself Games |
| | BPM: BULLETS PER MINUTE | older | $19.99 | 9,598 91% | 288k | $5.8M (exactly $5,755,921) | Awe Interactive |
| | Ratatan | · EA | $24.99 | 2,449 85% | 73k | $1.8M (exactly $1,836,015) | TVT Co. Ltd., Ratata Arts |
| | ROBOBEAT | older | $19.99 | 1,708 94% | 51k | $1.0M (exactly $1,024,288) | Simon Fredholm |
| | Beat Hazard 3 | older | $19.99 | 586 84% | 18k | $351k (exactly $351,424) | Cold Beam Games |
| | Bardbarian | older | $7.99 | 773 90% | 23k | $185k (exactly $185,288) | TreeFortress Games |
| | Rhythm Fighter | older | $14.99 | 380 80% | 11k | $171k (exactly $170,886) | echo games |
| | Beat Blast | older | $10.99 | 387 89% | 12k | $128k (exactly $127,594) | Woolly Walrus Games |
| | Beat Slayer | older | $19.99 | 80 88% | 2.4k | $48k (exactly $47,976) | ByteRockers' Games |
| | City of Beats | older | $19.99 | 70 85% | 2.1k | $42k (exactly $41,979) | Torched Hill |
| | Kill The Music | $9.99 | 106 96% | 3.2k | $32k (exactly $31,768) | Nikko Nikko | |
| | KAZ | $6.99 | 143 94% | 4.3k | $30k (exactly $29,987) | Kalinarm | |
| | Metavoidal | $14.99 | 46 93% | 1.4k | $21k (exactly $20,686) | Yellow Lab Games | |
| | Shady O'Grady's™ Overnight Sensation | · EA | $14.99 | 20 90% | 600 | $9.0k (exactly $8,994) | Gilligames |
| | KILLBEAT | $9.99 | 24 100% | 720 | $7.2k (exactly $7,193) | Kalma Games | |
| | Pop! Pachinko | $12.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $5.1k (exactly $5,066) | Pangolin Interactive, Robot Lion Games | |
| | Snowlike | $7.99 | 14 92% | 420 | $3.4k (exactly $3,356) | captinbeefy | |
| | Fresh Tracks VR | $19.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) | Buffalo Buffalo | |
| | Carnival Survivors The Parade | $4.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) | Enchant Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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