Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Noir
Should I ship a Noir Roguelike?
Roguelike + Noir
Of 44 developers who shipped a Noir Roguelike 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.. 81 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $680, ×1.4 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×510 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 81 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $683 (exactly $683) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,225) |
| Top 5% | $242k (exactly $242,019) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 44 |
| Released games | 89 |
| Announced | 81 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 down 95% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Roguelike; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RPG, Roguelite
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 13,458 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Roguelike with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + JRPGFair
- + 6DOFFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + VampiresFair
- + DogsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + SuperheroFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
Comparable games
Slots & Daggers 2025 · $1.8M 
OTXO 2023 · $1.5M 
Menace from the Deep 2024 · $1.3M 
Hell is Others 2022 · $446k 
Heading Out 2024 · $383k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Slots & Daggers | $7.99 | 7,421 93% | 223k | $1.8M (exactly $1,778,814) | Friedemann | |
| | OTXO | older | $14.99 | 3,303 93% | 99k | $1.5M (exactly $1,485,359) | Lateralis Heavy Industries |
| | Menace from the Deep | $16.99 | 2,466 84% | 74k | $1.3M (exactly $1,256,920) | Flat Lab | |
| | Hell is Others | older | $14.99 | 991 73% | 30k | $446k (exactly $445,653) | Strelka Games, Yonder |
| | Heading Out | older | $19.99 | 639 74% | 19k | $383k (exactly $383,208) | Serious Sim, Crunching Koalas |
 | HOTEL BARCELONA | $29.99 | 269 71% | 8.1k | $242k (exactly $242,019) | White Owls Inc. | |
 | TTV2 | older | $4.99 | 1,487 86% | 45k | $223k (exactly $222,604) | Walter Machado |
 | Betrayal At Club Low | older | $9.99 | 538 97% | 16k | $161k (exactly $161,239) | Cosmo D Studios |
 | Unfair Flips | $1.99 | 2,523 88% | 76k | $151k (exactly $150,623) | HEATHER FLOWERS | |
 | Exorcism Agency | $12.99 | 222 91% | 6.7k | $87k (exactly $86,513) | YINGGUO GAME | |
 | RogueJack21 | $11.99 | 196 67% | 5.9k | $71k (exactly $70,501) | Zandbox Studio | |
 | Shana - Priestess of Tona | $9.99 | 190 74% | 5.7k | $57k (exactly $56,943) | Lustration Team | |
 | My Hotel | $16.99 | 40 30% | 1.2k | $20k (exactly $20,388) | BrainSwapper | |
 | Dark Bone Prison | $5.99 | 84 95% | 2.5k | $15k (exactly $15,095) | Bunny Moon Shady | |
 | TOUHOU RHAPSODY OF MOON RABBIT | · EA | $9.99 | 47 82% | 1.4k | $14k (exactly $14,086) | 瓦尔基里游戏 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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