Do I ship it?

Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Procedural Generation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Procedural Generation Souls-like?

Souls-like + Procedural Generation

Of 36 developers who shipped a Procedural Generation Souls-like 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.. 76 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×2.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $4.1M, ×2794 the market median. Revenue is up 360% on the market; 76 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 360% on the market, 76 announced, ×4.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Procedural Generation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $16k → $897 → $3.6k → $7.8k → $838 → $12k → $5.4k (still earning) → $9.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Souls-like + Procedural Generation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $719 (exactly $719)
Median $3.1k (exactly $3,146)
Top 25% $124k (exactly $123,925)
Top 5% $4.2M (exactly $4,185,575)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 96
Announced 76
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 360% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Procedural Generation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like, Procedural Generation; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelite, Action Roguelike
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Difficult
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 22,696 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $3.1k, 1 in 4 over $120k, 1 in 20 over $4.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 76 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  9. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  10. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Dead Cells 2018 · $117M Remnant: From the Ashes 2019 · $57M Windblown 2024 · EA · $6.8M Mortal Sin 2025 · $4.2M NECROPOLIS: BRUTAL EDITION 2016 · $3.3M
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
Remnant: From the Ashes older $39.99 47,193 84% 1.4M $57M (exactly $56,617,442) Gunfire Games
Windblown · EA $24.99 9,066 88% 272k $6.8M (exactly $6,796,780) Motion Twin
Mortal Sin $24.99 5,583 94% 167k $4.2M (exactly $4,185,575) Nikola Todorovic
NECROPOLIS: BRUTAL EDITION older $29.99 3,696 63% 111k $3.3M (exactly $3,325,291) Harebrained Schemes
SWORN $24.99 3,779 80% 113k $2.8M (exactly $2,833,116) Windwalk Games
Going Under older $19.99 2,702 92% 81k $1.6M (exactly $1,620,389) Aggro Crab
Devil Slayer - Raksasi older $14.99 2,724 84% 82k $1.2M (exactly $1,224,983) GlassesCatGames
Withering Rooms older $24.99 1,209 96% 36k $906k (exactly $906,387) Moonless Formless
Source of Madness older $19.99 1,410 69% 42k $846k (exactly $845,577) Carry Castle
Moros Protocol $24.99 731 81% 22k $548k (exactly $548,031) Pixel Reign
Devil Spire Falls · EA $14.99 1,068 94% 32k $480k (exactly $480,280) Ithiro Sumi
Tyrant's Realm $9.99 1,035 83% 31k $310k (exactly $310,190) Team Tyrant
Katanaut $17.99 484 88% 15k $261k (exactly $261,215) Voidmaw
Darkblade Ascent $10.99 551 80% 17k $182k (exactly $181,665) PST Games
Rogue Blight $12.99 318 91% 9.5k $124k (exactly $123,925) CodeRadGames
MÖRK BORG Heresy Supreme · EA $19.99 81 77% 2.4k $49k (exactly $48,576) Morbidware

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