Do I ship it?

Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Runner

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Runner Roguelike?

Roguelike + Runner

Of 41 developers who shipped a Runner 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.. 42 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $90 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 24 developers shipped in the last year and 42 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 42 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelike + Runner
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 41
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $239 → $475 → $179 → $1.8k → $60 → $148 → $210 (still earning) → $30 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelike + Runner: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 41
Bottom 30% $59 (exactly $59)
Median $90 (exactly $90)
Top 25% $899 (exactly $899)
Top 5% $19k (exactly $19,095)
Developers, 2 yr 41
Released games 106
Announced 42
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $2.99

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 10% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Roguelike
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Runner
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Roguelike, Runner; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Arcade
Price point
$2.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Fast-Paced
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 1,451 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $59, median $90, 1 in 4 over $890, 1 in 20 over $19k.

3 in 10 developers made under $59. Nearly all of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + JRPGFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  2. + 6DOFFair15 devs · median $4.7k · 7 announced
  3. + Grand StrategyFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  4. + VampiresFair59 devs · median $3.1k · 58 announced
  5. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.9k · 17 announced
  6. + Artificial IntelligenceFair60 devs · median $1.8k · 85 announced
  7. + SuperheroFair12 devs · median $1.1k · 17 announced
  8. + IdlerFair160 devs · median $1.0k · 206 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair841 devs · median $959 · 1,066 announced
  10. + Walking SimulatorFair29 devs · median $718 · 28 announced
  11. + 2D PlatformerFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  12. + Traditional RoguelikeFair247 devs · median $599 · 314 announced

All 231 pairs on the Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

ALTF4 2021 · $848k ODDCORE 2026 · EA · $421k Trip to Vinelands 2016 · $235k I Hate Running Backwards 2018 · $85k Switchcars 2021 · $44k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ALTF4 older $2.99 9,452 80% 284k $848k (exactly $847,844) PUMPKIM
ODDCORE · EA $12.99 1,080 96% 32k $421k (exactly $420,876) ODDCORP
Trip to Vinelands older $4.99 1,572 85% 47k $235k (exactly $235,328) Walter Machado
I Hate Running Backwards older $14.99 188 71% 5.6k $85k (exactly $84,544) Binx Games, Croteam Incubator, Croteam
Switchcars older $8.99 164 90% 4.9k $44k (exactly $44,231) Altfuture
绝命游歌 older $6.99 159 82% 4.8k $33k (exactly $33,342) DreamStep, Wild Kid Games
BEERCRUSH $4.99 206 100% 6.2k $31k (exactly $30,838) LOWLIGHT
Last Knight: Rogue Rider Edition older $7.99 102 85% 3.1k $24k (exactly $24,449) Toco Games
SCHROTT: Roguelike Racer · EA $12.99 49 91% 1.5k $19k (exactly $19,095) Ivy Juice
Incaved Runner older $3.99 78 96% 2.3k $9.3k (exactly $9,337) DualWielded
Prison Escape Simulator $9.99 18 77% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) PEGAX Studios
Inflafrog: Collector's Edition $4.99 28 100% 840 $4.2k (exactly $4,192) Nice Cream
Dino-Ducks Dash $2.99 30 96% 900 $2.7k (exactly $2,691) Duckosaurus Games
Rogue Runner $5.99 12 91% 360 $2.2k (exactly $2,156) 42nd Machine
Only Straight and Up! $19.99 3 33% 90 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) AF Games
IQ Under Construction $2.99 14 50% 420 $1.3k (exactly $1,256) PoseidonPlay
Cube-Field+ $2.99 11 100% 330 $987 (exactly $987) Cool Birb Studio

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