Do I ship it?

GamesRoguelikeRoguelike + Ninja

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Ninja Roguelike?

Roguelike + Ninja

Only 16 developers shipped a Ninja 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, Shadowed: The Demon Castle of Ooe, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $26k, ×43 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 25 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 25 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelike + Ninja
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.8k → $6.3k → $4.7k → $6.0k → $8.7k → $809 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelike + Ninja: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,158)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $10,782)
Top 5% $27k (exactly $26,863)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 48
Announced 25
Effort 5 / 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 75% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Roguelike
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Ninja
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Roguelike; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelite, Action Roguelike
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 261 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $26k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + JRPGFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  2. + 6DOFFair15 devs · median $4.7k · 7 announced
  3. + Grand StrategyFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  4. + VampiresFair59 devs · median $3.1k · 58 announced
  5. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.9k · 17 announced
  6. + Artificial IntelligenceFair60 devs · median $1.8k · 85 announced
  7. + SuperheroFair12 devs · median $1.1k · 17 announced
  8. + IdlerFair160 devs · median $1.0k · 206 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair841 devs · median $959 · 1,066 announced
  10. + Walking SimulatorFair29 devs · median $718 · 28 announced
  11. + 2D PlatformerFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  12. + Traditional RoguelikeFair247 devs · median $599 · 314 announced

All 231 pairs on the Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Shogun Showdown older $14.99 6,197 95% 186k $2.8M (exactly $2,786,791) Roboatino
Oblivion Override older $17.99 1,692 90% 51k $913k (exactly $913,172) Humble Mill
Super House of Dead Ninjas older $19.99 1,470 96% 44k $882k (exactly $881,559) Megadev
Cyber Shadow older $19.99 1,294 83% 39k $776k (exactly $776,012) Aarne "MekaSkull" Hunziker
Samurai Bringer older $9.99 1,012 87% 30k $303k (exactly $303,296) ALPHAWING Inc.
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising older $29.99 211 72% 6.3k $190k (exactly $189,837) LANCARSE
Ninja Soul older $9.99 119 74% 3.6k $36k (exactly $35,664) Ash Game Studio
Straimium Immortaly older $6.99 157 89% 4.7k $33k (exactly $32,923) caiys
Shadowed: The Demon Castle of Ooe $15.99 56 92% 1.7k $27k (exactly $26,863) Lab Rabbit Games ltd
Shadow Ninja: Apocalypse older $4.99 153 55% 4.6k $23k (exactly $22,904) Boogygames Studios
Cursed Blood · EA $14.99 37 75% 1.1k $17k (exactly $16,639) David Marquardt Studios
Atomic Owl $12.99 30 90% 900 $12k (exactly $11,691) Monster Theater
Rogue Samurai $5.99 60 53% 1.8k $11k (exactly $10,782) CO's Entertainment
High Fructose · EA $9.99 29 89% 870 $8.7k (exactly $8,691) Chazak Games
Shogun Curse $9.99 20 60% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Oh Baby Games
NINDO Guardian of the Starlit Shadow · EA $9.99 11 100% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) MORIKICHIDO
Mukuro no Rasen $8.99 8 100% 240 $2.2k (exactly $2,158) Matrix Corporation
Rikua · EA $9.99 5 100% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) Stiff Ballerina
虚衝 - Kyosho $9.99 5 80% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) むつむつプロジェクト(Mutsu'pro)

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