Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roguelike Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Roguelike

Of 345 developers who shipped a Roguelike Resource Management game 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.. 659 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $430k, ×923 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 659 games are announced against 241 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 659 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 345
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.7k → $3.5k → $5.0k → $2.6k → $11k → $3.3k → $3.0k (still earning) → $807 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 345
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,158)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,501)
Top 5% $438k (exactly $438,458)
Developers, 2 yr 345
Released games 570
Announced 659
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 55% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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.

Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Roguelike
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
Resource Management, Roguelike; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelite, Simulation
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 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 $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 75,885 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $430k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 7 in 10 of the 113 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 659 games are announced against 241 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Dwarf Fortress 2022 · $26M Loop Hero 2021 · $15M Dome Keeper 2022 · $10M CloverPit 2025 · $7.4M Mini Motorways 2021 · $7.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dwarf Fortress older $29.99 29,303 94% 879k $26M (exactly $26,363,909) Bay 12 Games
Loop Hero older $14.99 33,816 92% 1.0M $15M (exactly $15,207,055) Four Quarters
Dome Keeper older $17.99 18,976 92% 569k $10M (exactly $10,241,347) Bippinbits
CloverPit $9.99 24,710 90% 741k $7.4M (exactly $7,405,587) Panik Arcade
Mini Motorways older $9.99 23,561 96% 707k $7.1M (exactly $7,061,232) Dinosaur Polo Club
The Wandering Village $29.99 7,734 91% 232k $7.0M (exactly $6,958,280) Stray Fawn Studio
Cultist Simulator older $19.99 10,496 82% 315k $6.3M (exactly $6,294,451) Weather Factory
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Dungeon of the ENDLESS™ older $11.99 9,419 87% 283k $3.4M (exactly $3,388,014) AMPLITUDE Studios
Rise to Ruins older $14.99 7,234 87% 217k $3.3M (exactly $3,253,130) Raymond Doerr
Scritchy Scratchy $6.99 15,245 94% 457k $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) Lunch Money Games
Tower Dominion $17.49 5,117 85% 154k $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) Parallel 45 Games
Emberward $19.99 3,775 96% 113k $2.3M (exactly $2,263,868) Refic Games
Void War $19.99 3,653 94% 110k $2.2M (exactly $2,190,704) Tundra
Nordhold $19.99 2,875 87% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,724,137) StunForge
Drill Core $19.99 2,130 84% 64k $1.3M (exactly $1,277,361) Hungry Couch Games
Restaurats $19.90 1,640 89% 49k $979k (exactly $979,080) toR Studio

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