Do I ship it?

GamesParty-Based RPGParty-Based RPG + Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roguelike Party-Based RPG?

Party-Based RPG + Roguelike

Of 109 developers who shipped a Roguelike Party-Based 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.. 223 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $8.9k, ×14 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×464 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 223 games are announced against 69 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 14.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 223 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Party-Based RPG + Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 109
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $63k → $16k → $85k → $6.3k → $11k → $4.8k → $18k (still earning) → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Party-Based RPG + Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 109
Bottom 30% $2.7k (exactly $2,696)
Median $8.9k (exactly $8,869)
Top 25% $38k (exactly $38,362)
Top 5% $291k (exactly $291,454)
Developers, 2 yr 109
Released games 238
Announced 223
Effort 6 / 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 up 30% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Party-Based RPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Roguelike
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Party-Based RPG, Roguelike; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Roguelite
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 11,368 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.7k, median $8.9k, 1 in 4 over $38k, 1 in 20 over $290k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.7k. 8 in 10 of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 223 games are announced against 69 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Party-Based RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Board GameFair24 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  2. + Point & ClickFair17 devs · median $2.5k · 20 announced
  3. + 2D PlatformerFair55 devs · median $599 · 42 announced
  4. + Hidden ObjectFair15 devs · median $479 · 16 announced
  5. + Martial ArtsPoor odds5 devs · median $230k · 16 announced
  6. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $49k · 25 announced
  7. + SandboxPoor odds23 devs · median $34k · 71 announced
  8. + BuildingPoor odds12 devs · median $32k · 37 announced
  9. + AutomationPoor odds14 devs · median $21k · 28 announced
  10. + Turn-BasedPoor odds67 devs · median $19k · 76 announced
  11. + Base BuildingPoor odds19 devs · median $19k · 51 announced
  12. + IncrementalPoor odds18 devs · median $15k · 45 announced

All 111 pairs on the Party-Based RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Darkest Dungeon® II older $39.99 24,249 74% 727k $29M (exactly $29,091,525) Red Hook Studios
For The King older $19.99 31,038 87% 931k $19M (exactly $18,613,489) IronOak Games
For The King II older $24.99 12,708 71% 381k $9.5M (exactly $9,527,188) IronOak Games
Chrono Ark older $24.99 12,623 90% 379k $9.5M (exactly $9,463,463) Al Fine
Gordian Quest older $19.99 5,259 88% 158k $3.2M (exactly $3,153,822) Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holding… (Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holdings Pte Ltd)
Knock on the Coffin Lid older $24.99 2,727 82% 82k $2.0M (exactly $2,044,432) RedBoon
Aethermancer · EA $25.99 2,585 91% 78k $2.0M (exactly $2,015,524) moi rai games
Dead Age older $14.99 4,407 83% 132k $2.0M (exactly $1,981,828) Silent Dreams
Chinese Online Game older $9.99 6,610 82% 198k $2.0M (exactly $1,981,017) 648工作室
The Last Flame $19.99 2,744 85% 82k $1.6M (exactly $1,645,577) Hotloop
Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot $14.99 2,588 82% 78k $1.2M (exactly $1,163,824) Hamma Studios
Bloodgrounds $19.99 561 77% 17k $336k (exactly $336,432) Exordium Games
Sandwalkers $19.99 490 73% 15k $294k (exactly $293,853) Goblinz Studio
Dimensionals $19.99 486 79% 15k $291k (exactly $291,454) Mino Games
Seer's Gambit $14.99 490 76% 15k $220k (exactly $220,353) Unleash The Giraffe
Escape The Mad Empire · EA $17.99 406 88% 12k $219k (exactly $219,118) XperimentalZ Games
Battle Suit Aces $19.99 347 90% 10k $208k (exactly $208,096) Trinket Studios
Legionbound $9.99 671 83% 20k $201k (exactly $201,099) Spicy Garlic Games

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