Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Traditional Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Traditional Roguelike Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Traditional Roguelike

Of 22 developers who shipped a Traditional 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.. 34 more are announced.

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 $150; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×253 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 34 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 34 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Traditional Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.8k → $16k → $2.2k (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Traditional Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,157)
Top 25% $4.9k (exactly $4,940)
Top 5% $120k (exactly $119,952)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 30
Announced 34
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 95% on the market, supply 350% more developers than the period before.

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
Traditional 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, Traditional Roguelike; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Roguelite, Strategy
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, Cute, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 1,091 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $4.9k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 34 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island 2024 · $564k Desktop Dungeons 2023 · $510k Desktop Dungeons: Rewind 2023 · $300k Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko's Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- 2026 · $120k Another Farm Roguelike 2022 · $40k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island $39.99 470 85% 14k $564k (exactly $563,859) Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Desktop Dungeons older $14.99 1,134 88% 34k $510k (exactly $509,960) QCF Design
Desktop Dungeons: Rewind older $19.99 501 75% 15k $300k (exactly $300,450) QCF Design
Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko's Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- $24.99 160 49% 4.8k $120k (exactly $119,952) Square Enix
Another Farm Roguelike older $2.99 449 81% 13k $40k (exactly $40,275) Zabbo Games
Silly Survivors $2.99 262 93% 7.9k $24k (exactly $23,501) DenaZ, SillyWorks
It's time, Your Majesty $6.99 77 64% 2.3k $16k (exactly $16,147) String studio
A Dark Room ® older $6.99 61 90% 1.8k $13k (exactly $12,792) Amir Rajan
Dread Nautical older $19.99 21 61% 630 $13k (exactly $12,594) Zen Studios
Magic Potion Destroyer older $9.99 38 78% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) ARTIFACTS
TownsFolk $11.99 22 81% 660 $7.9k (exactly $7,913) Short Circuit Studios
Battle Of The Abyss $4.99 33 93% 990 $4.9k (exactly $4,940) 1029studio
InfinityMine · EA $8.99 16 68% 480 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) HayaseWorks
Meow Tower - Doomsguard $9.99 12 41% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) maoyoufang
Path of Gear: Blacksmith's Legend · EA $9.99 10 70% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) HaNWA Games
Maid Mech $2.99 29 96% 870 $2.6k (exactly $2,601) Dark Arrow Studio

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