Do I ship it?

GamesRogueliteRoguelite + Music

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Music Roguelite?

Roguelite + Music

Only 15 developers shipped a Music Roguelite 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, Fresh Tracks, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 39 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×2.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $39k, ×84 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 39 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 39 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelite + Music
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $48k → $15k → $21k → $449 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelite + Music: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,912)
Top 5% $40k (exactly $39,734)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 42
Announced 39
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 90% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 2%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Roguelite
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Music
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Roguelite; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Rhythm
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 331 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $39k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Roguelite with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-TimeFair11 devs · median $11k · 14 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair24 devs · median $9.3k · 28 announced
  3. + VampiresFair60 devs · median $4.8k · 62 announced
  4. + TypingFair29 devs · median $2.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Grand StrategyFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  6. + IdlerFair166 devs · median $1.5k · 235 announced
  7. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.3k · 22 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair23 devs · median $1.1k · 23 announced
  9. + Score AttackFair344 devs · median $719 · 450 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair94 devs · median $600 · 121 announced
  11. + LogicFair144 devs · median $599 · 143 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds21 devs · median $74k · 24 announced

All 229 pairs on the Roguelite page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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
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 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
Fresh Tracks $24.99 53 94% 1.6k $40k (exactly $39,734) Buffalo Buffalo
绝命游歌 older $6.99 159 82% 4.8k $33k (exactly $33,342) DreamStep, Wild Kid Games
Kill The Music $9.99 106 96% 3.2k $32k (exactly $31,768) Nikko Nikko
Metavoidal $14.99 46 93% 1.4k $21k (exactly $20,686) Yellow Lab Games
Concerto on White: Cajon Story $8.99 59 94% 1.8k $16k (exactly $15,912) C11 Games
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
Big Band Survivors $4.99 7 85% 210 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) Moontrail Games

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.