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Should I ship a Mystery Dungeon Strategy RPG?
Strategy RPG + Mystery Dungeon
Of 29 developers who shipped a Mystery Dungeon Strategy 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.. 47 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $81k, ×131 the market median. Revenue is up 250% on the market; 47 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $298 (exactly $298) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,468) |
| Top 25% | $21k (exactly $20,509) |
| Top 5% | $82k (exactly $81,989) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 79 |
| Announced | 47 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 250% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Strategy RPG
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Mystery Dungeon
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy RPG, Mystery Dungeon; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Dungeon Crawler, RPG
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 1,431 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SportsFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + EconomyFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + ConspiracyFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
Comparable games
Guidus Zero 2025 · $274k 
Caves of Lore 2023 · $122k 
Slot & Dungeons 2026 · $82k 
Death end re;Quest: Code Z 2025 · $70k 
PuPu's Adventure Park 2025 · $58k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Guidus Zero | $14.99 | 609 75% | 18k | $274k (exactly $273,867) | izzle | |
| | Caves of Lore | older | $9.99 | 408 93% | 12k | $122k (exactly $122,278) | by Mike Robins |
| | Slot & Dungeons | $8.99 | 304 83% | 9.1k | $82k (exactly $81,989) | MUC GAMES | |
| | Death end re;Quest: Code Z | $39.99 | 58 72% | 1.7k | $70k (exactly $69,583) | Idea Factory, Compile Heart | |
| | PuPu's Adventure Park | $14.99 | 130 64% | 3.9k | $58k (exactly $58,461) | 西梅树工作室 | |
 | Obsidian Prince | older | $14.99 | 103 77% | 3.1k | $46k (exactly $46,319) | Unleash The Giraffe |
 | Lazriel: The Demon's Fall | older | $14.99 | 88 90% | 2.6k | $40k (exactly $39,574) | Otakesan |
 | AbsentedAge: Squarebound | older | $12.99 | 67 91% | 2.0k | $26k (exactly $26,110) | terunon's Lab |
 | Aquilon's Sex Quest | $6.99 | 112 70% | 3.4k | $23k (exactly $23,486) | Aquilon | |
 | Dragonero | $19.99 | 38 68% | 1.1k | $23k (exactly $22,789) | Operaludica | |
 | DungeonCrawlers | $8.99 | 77 68% | 2.3k | $21k (exactly $20,767) | KusanohitoCreative | |
 | Sword Mistress of the Dungeon Town | $17.99 | 38 65% | 1.1k | $21k (exactly $20,509) | ラブリープリチー超愛してる, Lovely Pretty Ultra Lov… (ラブリープリチー超愛してる, Lovely Pretty Ultra Loving You) | |
 | The Dream Labyrinth | $14.99 | 44 81% | 1.3k | $20k (exactly $19,787) | GGG`s | |
 | Arcane Ascent | $14.99 | 21 76% | 630 | $9.4k (exactly $9,444) | Catbot Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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