Do I ship it?

Games › Party-Based RPG › Party-Based RPG + Mystery Dungeon

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Dungeon Party-Based RPG?

Party-Based RPG + Mystery Dungeon

Of 21 developers who shipped a Mystery Dungeon Party-Based RPG 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.. 22 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $41k, ×67 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 22 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 22 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Party-Based RPG + Mystery Dungeon
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $1.6k → $779 → $4.5k → $1.8k (still earning) → $2.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Party-Based RPG + Mystery Dungeon: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,799)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,587)
Top 5% $42k (exactly $41,822)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 57
Announced 22
Effort 6 / 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: 18%, 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.

Party-Based RPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Mystery Dungeon
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Party-Based RPG, Mystery Dungeon; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Dungeon Crawler, RPG
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 68% positive over 1,355 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $41k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Party-Based RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Board GameFair24 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  2. + Point & ClickFair17 devs · median $2.5k · 20 announced
  3. + 2D PlatformerFair55 devs · median $599 · 42 announced
  4. + Hidden ObjectFair15 devs · median $479 · 16 announced
  5. + Martial ArtsPoor odds5 devs · median $230k · 16 announced
  6. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $49k · 25 announced
  7. + SandboxPoor odds23 devs · median $34k · 71 announced
  8. + BuildingPoor odds12 devs · median $32k · 37 announced
  9. + AutomationPoor odds14 devs · median $21k · 28 announced
  10. + Turn-BasedPoor odds67 devs · median $19k · 76 announced
  11. + Base BuildingPoor odds19 devs · median $19k · 51 announced
  12. + IncrementalPoor odds18 devs · median $15k · 45 announced

All 111 pairs on the Party-Based RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Fall of the Dungeon Guardians - Enhanced Edition 2015 · $375k Full Mojo Rampage 2014 · $204k From Frontier 2020 · $172k Ark of Artemis 2021 · $147k Dungeon Dreams 2 2024 · $125k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Fall of the Dungeon Guardians - Enhanced Edition older $19.99 625 83% 19k $375k (exactly $374,812) Mana Games
Full Mojo Rampage older $12.99 524 85% 16k $204k (exactly $204,203) Over the Top Games
From Frontier older $15.99 359 96% 11k $172k (exactly $172,212) Doubles Core
Ark of Artemis older $17.99 272 81% 8.2k $147k (exactly $146,798) Kujirabo。
Dungeon Dreams 2 older $19.99 209 90% 6.3k $125k (exactly $125,337) DDreams Games
FATE: The Cursed King older $7.99 484 93% 15k $116k (exactly $116,015) WildTangent
Chained in the Backrooms · EA $2.99 933 68% 28k $84k (exactly $83,690) Task+ Studios
Elmarion: the Lost Temple $14.99 93 67% 2.8k $42k (exactly $41,822) Fleon Games
Wizlite: Everybody loved RPGs · EA $19.99 43 39% 1.3k $26k (exactly $25,787) 5dims Inc.
Dragonero $19.99 38 68% 1.1k $23k (exactly $22,789) Operaludica
DungeonCrawlers $8.99 77 68% 2.3k $21k (exactly $20,767) KusanohitoCreative
Everfall 2: Idle Dungeon RPG $9.99 42 76% 1.3k $13k (exactly $12,587) GameDevJoey
Heroes Against Time $7.49 53 94% 1.6k $12k (exactly $11,909) David Vinokurov
Three Skies Ascension $14.99 24 70% 720 $11k (exactly $10,793) Shiny Box Games
When We Arrive $9.99 22 81% 660 $6.6k (exactly $6,593) Two Pixels UG
Everfall: Idle Dungeon RPG $4.99 30 33% 900 $4.5k (exactly $4,491) GameDevJoey

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