Games › Platformer › Platformer + Roguelike
Should I ship a Roguelike Platformer?
Platformer + Roguelike
Of 173 developers who shipped a Roguelike Platformer 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.. 234 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $390k, ×835 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 234 games are announced against 105 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $716 (exactly $716) |
| Top 25% | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) |
| Top 5% | $396k (exactly $396,402) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 173 |
| Released games | 544 |
| Announced | 234 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 55% 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.
- Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Roguelike
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Platformer, Roguelike; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelite
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 39,250 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 78 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 234 games are announced against 105 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Platformer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + PinballStrong odds
- + Combat RacingFair
- + FMVFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsLong shot
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Co-op CampaignPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + SkateboardingPoor odds
Comparable games
Dead Cells 2018 · $117M 
Skul: The Hero Slayer 2021 · $30M 
Neon Abyss 2020 · $19M 
Spelunky 2 2020 · $12M 
Rogue Legacy 2 2022 · $11M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dead Cells | older | $24.99 | 156,263 97% | 4.7M | $117M (exactly $117,150,371) | Motion Twin |
| | Skul: The Hero Slayer | older | $19.99 | 50,801 93% | 1.5M | $30M (exactly $30,465,360) | SOUTHPAW GAMES |
| | Neon Abyss | older | $31.49 | 19,709 86% | 591k | $19M (exactly $18,619,092) | Veewo Games |
| | Spelunky 2 | older | $19.99 | 19,736 93% | 592k | $12M (exactly $11,835,679) | Mossmouth, BlitWorks |
| | Rogue Legacy 2 | older | $24.99 | 14,238 90% | 427k | $11M (exactly $10,674,229) | Cellar Door Games |
 | Crab Champions | · EA older | $9.99 | 26,546 97% | 796k | $8.0M (exactly $7,955,836) | Noisestorm |
 | Have a Nice Death | older | $24.99 | 9,729 85% | 292k | $7.3M (exactly $7,293,831) | Magic Design Studios |
 | Rogue Legacy | older | $14.99 | 15,877 92% | 476k | $7.1M (exactly $7,139,887) | Cellar Door Games |
 | White Knuckle | · EA | $16.99 | 13,356 98% | 401k | $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) | Dark Machine Games |
 | Spelunky | older | $14.99 | 14,676 92% | 440k | $6.6M (exactly $6,599,797) | Mossmouth |
 | UFO 50 | $24.99 | 7,134 94% | 214k | $5.3M (exactly $5,348,360) | Mossmouth | |
 | Stick It to the Stickman | · EA | $11.99 | 7,918 96% | 238k | $2.8M (exactly $2,848,105) | Free Lives |
 | The Rogue Prince of Persia | $29.99 | 2,393 89% | 72k | $2.2M (exactly $2,152,982) | Evil Empire | |
 | Neon Abyss 2 | · EA | $19.99 | 1,968 68% | 59k | $1.2M (exactly $1,180,210) | Veewo Games |
 | Pratfall | $7.99 | 2,797 90% | 84k | $670k (exactly $670,441) | Quad Head | |
 | Goblin Vyke: The Thief Tycoon | $14.99 | 1,397 70% | 42k | $628k (exactly $628,231) | Art Thieves | |
 | OVIS LOOP | · EA | $16.99 | 1,083 88% | 32k | $552k (exactly $552,005) | LIFUEL |
 | Dragon Is Dead | $19.99 | 661 75% | 20k | $396k (exactly $396,402) | TeamSuneat | |
 | Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse | $16.99 | 543 72% | 16k | $277k (exactly $276,767) | Frontside 180 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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