Do I ship it?

Games › Quick-Time Events › Quick-Time Events + Roguelite

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Quick-Time Events Roguelite?

Quick-Time Events + Roguelite

Of 45 developers who shipped a Quick-Time Events Roguelite 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.. 44 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $270 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 25 developers shipped in the last year and 44 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 44 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Quick-Time Events + Roguelite
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 45
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.3k → $1.4k → $30 → $598 → $60 → $239 → $239 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Quick-Time Events + Roguelite: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 45
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,259)
Top 5% $12k (exactly $12,171)
Developers, 2 yr 45
Released games 82
Announced 44
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 35% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Quick-Time Events
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Roguelite
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Quick-Time Events, Roguelite; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Action, Strategy
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 390 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 $240, 1 in 4 over $1.2k, 1 in 20 over $12k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. All of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Quick-Time Events with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $15k · 16 announced
  2. + Shoot 'Em UpFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  3. + Life SimFair28 devs · median $958 · 33 announced
  4. + SimulationFair116 devs · median $748 · 133 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $720 · 18 announced
  6. + Resource ManagementFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced
  7. + FlightFair9 devs · median $657 · 9 announced
  8. + AliensFair12 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  9. + SpaceFair16 devs · median $597 · 24 announced
  10. + Bullet TimeLong shot10 devs · median $390 · 15 announced
  11. + DemonsLong shot17 devs · median $300 · 22 announced
  12. + Bullet HellLong shot27 devs · median $239 · 25 announced

All 110 pairs on the Quick-Time Events page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Return to abyss 重返深渊 2023 · $142k Randoville 2023 · EA · $28k Ragnar 2026 · $27k Pet the Cat 2026 · $23k Type or Die 2026 · $12k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Return to abyss 重返深渊 older $4.99 949 79% 28k $142k (exactly $142,065) Wingjoy Games
Randoville · EA older $14.99 63 63% 1.9k $28k (exactly $28,331) AVE Team
Ragnar $14.99 61 83% 1.8k $27k (exactly $27,432) Fimbulwinter Games
Pet the Cat $4.99 155 83% 4.7k $23k (exactly $23,204) MEWSTURBO
Type or Die $13.99 29 31% 870 $12k (exactly $12,171) Type or Die
转生魔塔 $11.99 26 88% 780 $9.4k (exactly $9,352) Zeros
Fadedlands: The Reckless Squad $5.99 34 97% 1.0k $6.1k (exactly $6,110) ForindGames
The Warlin of Heroes older $6.99 22 68% 660 $4.6k (exactly $4,613) NJDZ
Stardust Defenders older $4.99 29 86% 870 $4.3k (exactly $4,341) Wise Reaper Games
Inflafrog: Collector's Edition $4.99 28 100% 840 $4.2k (exactly $4,192) Nice Cream
36 Zodiac Cycles $5.99 20 100% 600 $3.6k (exactly $3,594) 雪中观狐
Bot Loop $8.99 11 81% 330 $3.0k (exactly $2,967) ciego
Net Gains $6.99 14 92% 420 $2.9k (exactly $2,936) Alec Frey
KeyFortress · EA $7.99 12 83% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) Daisen

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