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Should I ship a Mystery Roguelite?
Roguelite + Mystery
Of 131 developers who shipped a Mystery Roguelite 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.. 250 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×266 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 250 games are announced against 88 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $5.7k (exactly $5,741) |
| Top 5% | $126k (exactly $126,366) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 131 |
| Released games | 250 |
| Announced | 250 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 50% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Roguelite; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Adventure, Strategy
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 33,420 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 50 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 250 games are announced against 88 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Roguelite with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-TimeFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + TypingFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DogsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + DwarvesPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Blue Prince | $29.99 | 17,498 85% | 525k | $16M (exactly $15,742,951) | Dogubomb | |
| | WORLD OF HORROR | older | $19.99 | 8,991 89% | 270k | $5.4M (exactly $5,391,903) | panstasz |
| | GNOSIA | older | $24.99 | 4,855 93% | 146k | $3.6M (exactly $3,639,794) | Petit Depotto |
| | Sol Cesto | $13.99 | 4,838 91% | 145k | $2.0M (exactly $2,030,509) | Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospir… (Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospirale) | |
| | KLETKA | $9.99 | 6,374 90% | 191k | $1.9M (exactly $1,910,288) | Callback, ln404 | |
| | OTXO | older | $14.99 | 3,303 93% | 99k | $1.5M (exactly $1,485,359) | Lateralis Heavy Industries |
| | Withering Rooms | older | $24.99 | 1,209 96% | 36k | $906k (exactly $906,387) | Moonless Formless |
| | Source of Madness | older | $19.99 | 1,410 69% | 42k | $846k (exactly $845,577) | Carry Castle |
| | Ultros | older | $24.99 | 787 80% | 24k | $590k (exactly $590,014) | Hadoque |
| | The Last Case of Benedict Fox Definitive Edition | older | $24.99 | 786 71% | 24k | $589k (exactly $589,264) | Plot Twist |
| | Hell Maiden | · EA | $9.99 | 1,834 90% | 55k | $550k (exactly $549,650) | AstralShift |
| | UnderMine 2 | · EA | $19.99 | 828 75% | 25k | $497k (exactly $496,552) | Thorium |
| | NO-SKIN | $6.99 | 1,227 95% | 37k | $257k (exactly $257,302) | NoEye-Soft | |
| | Deified | · EA | $14.99 | 281 96% | 8.4k | $126k (exactly $126,366) | Unexpected |
| | Kromlech | · EA | $29.99 | 136 65% | 4.1k | $122k (exactly $122,359) | Perun Creative |
| | Rina's Undercover Train Operation | $13.99 | 286 70% | 8.6k | $120k (exactly $120,034) | Metamorphose | |
| | THE SPIRIT LIFT | $19.99 | 118 94% | 3.5k | $71k (exactly $70,765) | prettysmart games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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