Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Psychological
Should I ship a Psychological Roguelike?
Roguelike + Psychological
Of 51 developers who shipped a Psychological 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.. 116 more are announced, ×2.9 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 $210; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×380 the market median. Revenue is up 115% on the market; 116 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $718 (exactly $718) |
| Top 25% | $6.1k (exactly $6,081) |
| Top 5% | $180k (exactly $180,429) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 51 |
| Released games | 75 |
| Announced | 116 |
| 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 up 115% on the market, supply 265% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Psychological
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Roguelike; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Strategy, Simulation
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Dark, First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 26,657 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 116 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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
Inscryption 2021 · $81M 
Buckshot Roulette 2024 · $9.9M 
CloverPit 2025 · $7.4M 
The Backrooms: Survival 2023 · $264k 
Everlasting Flowers - Where there is a will, there is a way 2024 · $255k | 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 |
| | Buckshot Roulette | older | $2.99 | 110,042 95% | 3.3M | $9.9M (exactly $9,870,767) | Mike Klubnika |
| | CloverPit | $9.99 | 24,710 90% | 741k | $7.4M (exactly $7,405,587) | Panik Arcade | |
| | The Backrooms: Survival | older | $9.99 | 881 82% | 26k | $264k (exactly $264,036) | RE:CODE |
| | Everlasting Flowers - Where there is a will, there is a way | older | $29.99 | 283 86% | 8.5k | $255k (exactly $254,615) | sprite, flowers.studio |
 | It Has My Face | $9.99 | 608 88% | 18k | $182k (exactly $182,218) | NightByte Games | |
 | Menherarium: Deadly Dice | $8.99 | 669 92% | 20k | $180k (exactly $180,429) | テスカトリポカ | |
 | Photogenic Minds : Identity | older | $19.99 | 89 88% | 2.7k | $53k (exactly $53,373) | 727 Not Hound |
 | Dice Tavern: Farkle Roguelike | $9.99 | 112 90% | 3.4k | $34k (exactly $33,566) | Cavi Studio | |
 | XXX_CYBERRAT_XXX | older | $5.99 | 137 94% | 4.1k | $25k (exactly $24,619) | Nocturne Studio |
 | Dreamcards | $9.99 | 82 98% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $24,575) | Soneka Games | |
 | Blackjack Descent | $7.99 | 88 79% | 2.6k | $21k (exactly $21,094) | CGI LAB GAMES | |
 | ARSONATE | $2.99 | 158 87% | 4.7k | $14k (exactly $14,173) | Nash | |
 | Red or Blue | $3.99 | 109 96% | 3.3k | $13k (exactly $13,047) | Canary | |
 | Time for Bed | $4.99 | 83 96% | 2.5k | $12k (exactly $12,425) | NERDY PENGUIN | |
 | Angel's Dreams | $9.99 | 38 92% | 1.1k | $11k (exactly $11,389) | Crooked Road |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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