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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.
| 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.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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