Do I ship it?

GamesRogueliteRoguelite + Ninja

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Ninja Roguelite?

Roguelite + Ninja

Only 19 developers shipped a Ninja 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, Half-Demon Shinobi, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 28 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $400k, ×652 the market median. Revenue is up 515% on the market; 28 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 515% on the market, 28 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelite + Ninja
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $348k → $6.3k → $3.9k → $8.7k → $1.5k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelite + Ninja: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $10,782)
Top 5% $409k (exactly $409,487)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 45
Announced 28
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 515% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
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
Roguelite; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Combat
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 1,513 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $400k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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
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
Bing in Wonderland older $8.99 2,020 97% 61k $545k (exactly $544,794) Wanba Studio
Half-Demon Shinobi $10.99 1,242 89% 37k $409k (exactly $409,487) 樹懶叫工作室, 紳士吉娃, Maker製造機
Mahokenshi - The Samurai Deckbuilder older $24.99 464 77% 14k $348k (exactly $347,861) Game Source Studio
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
Mexican Ninja $16.99 76 89% 2.3k $39k (exactly $38,737) Madbricks
Ninja Soul older $9.99 119 74% 3.6k $36k (exactly $35,664) Ash Game Studio
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
NINDO Guardian of the Starlit Shadow · EA $9.99 11 100% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) MORIKICHIDO
Nightmarena $5.99 15 93% 450 $2.7k (exactly $2,696) Colo Coko
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

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