Do I ship it?

GamesRoguelikeRoguelike + Point & Click

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Point & Click Roguelike?

Roguelike + Point & Click

Of 92 developers who shipped a Point & Click 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.. 107 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 64 developers shipped in the last year and 107 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 107 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelike + Point & Click
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 92
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $150 → $11k → $1.8k → $683 → $3.6k → $240 → $267 (still earning) → $239 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelike + Point & Click: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 92
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $267 (exactly $267)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,697)
Top 5% $67k (exactly $67,166)
Developers, 2 yr 92
Released games 180
Announced 107
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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 60% on the market, supply 120% 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Roguelike
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Point & Click
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Roguelike, Point & Click; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelite, Simulation
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Hand-drawn, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 5,188 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $270, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $67k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 7 in 10 of the 35 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 107 games are announced against 64 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Roguelike with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + JRPGFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  2. + 6DOFFair15 devs · median $4.7k · 7 announced
  3. + Grand StrategyFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  4. + VampiresFair59 devs · median $3.1k · 58 announced
  5. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.9k · 17 announced
  6. + Artificial IntelligenceFair60 devs · median $1.8k · 85 announced
  7. + SuperheroFair12 devs · median $1.1k · 17 announced
  8. + IdlerFair160 devs · median $1.0k · 206 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair841 devs · median $959 · 1,066 announced
  10. + Walking SimulatorFair29 devs · median $718 · 28 announced
  11. + 2D PlatformerFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  12. + Traditional RoguelikeFair247 devs · median $599 · 314 announced

All 231 pairs on the Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Inscryption older $19.99 135,017 96% 4.1M $81M (exactly $80,969,695) Daniel Mullins Games
WORLD OF HORROR older $19.99 8,991 89% 270k $5.4M (exactly $5,391,903) panstasz
Card Survival: Tropical Island older $24.99 2,962 94% 89k $2.2M (exactly $2,220,611) WinterSpring Games
SKYHILL older $9.99 4,736 78% 142k $1.4M (exactly $1,419,379) Mandragora
Lost But Found $6.99 2,316 71% 69k $486k (exactly $485,665) Rogue Duck Interactive
Mini Airways - ATC simulator older $9.99 1,339 92% 40k $401k (exactly $401,298) CCC Games, Erabit
miniBONG older $9.99 881 79% 26k $264k (exactly $264,036) Game Star
Betrayal At Club Low older $9.99 538 97% 16k $161k (exactly $161,239) Cosmo D Studios
Don Duality older $14.99 288 59% 8.6k $130k (exactly $129,514) Königsborgs
Void Miner – Incremental Asteroids Roguelite $5.99 698 83% 21k $125k (exactly $125,431) RyanJakob
Rina's Undercover Train Operation $13.99 286 70% 8.6k $120k (exactly $120,034) Metamorphose
Roulette Hero $9.99 260 92% 7.8k $78k (exactly $77,922) CLLC Studio
Skogdal $19.99 112 98% 3.4k $67k (exactly $67,166) Erlend Kirkeboe, Kay Arne Kirkeboe
Legends of Wasteland $6.99 320 62% 9.6k $67k (exactly $67,104) 清友工作室
The Deadseat $2.99 618 97% 19k $55k (exactly $55,435) Curious Fox Sox
Dead Finger Dice $4.99 230 78% 6.9k $34k (exactly $34,431) Rocket Adrift Games
Slay the Alice $3.99 286 97% 8.6k $34k (exactly $34,234) SUZUMIHARA, BARON DU JUVÉNILE
Escape From Zombie U:reloaded $15.99 62 62% 1.9k $30k (exactly $29,741) SodaAnimations

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