Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Spelling
Should I ship a Spelling Roguelike?
Roguelike + Spelling
Of 25 developers who shipped a Spelling 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.. 29 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.2k, ×8.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×510 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 29 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.3k (exactly $1,348) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) |
| Top 25% | $22k (exactly $21,578) |
| Top 5% | $242k (exactly $242,097) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 34 |
| Announced | 29 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 3%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Roguelike, Spelling; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Word Game, Deckbuilding, Roguelite
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 2,862 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Roguelike with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + JRPGFair
- + 6DOFFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + VampiresFair
- + DogsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + SuperheroFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
Comparable games
Pronoun Palace 2026 · $743k 
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 2020 · $364k 
Word Play 2025 · $242k 
スペルトナエル 2024 · $93k 
Beyond Words 2026 · $46k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Pronoun Palace | $19.84 | 1,249 99% | 37k | $743k (exactly $743,405) | Cadence Petersen, Hazel Fackler | |
| | Who Wants To Be A Millionaire | older | $29.99 | 405 52% | 12k | $364k (exactly $364,378) | Appeal Studios, Balio Studio |
| | Word Play | $7.99 | 1,010 89% | 30k | $242k (exactly $242,097) | Game Maker's Toolkit | |
| | スペルトナエル | older | $8.99 | 344 97% | 10k | $93k (exactly $92,777) | おまど |
| | Beyond Words | $14.99 | 102 84% | 3.1k | $46k (exactly $45,869) | MindFuel Games | |
 | Гвалт | $7.99 | 151 93% | 4.5k | $36k (exactly $36,195) | maxter | |
 | TypInc. | $9.99 | 102 74% | 3.1k | $31k (exactly $30,569) | Game Game Games | |
 | Birdigo - bird word game | $9.99 | 78 84% | 2.3k | $23k (exactly $23,377) | John August, Corey Martin | |
 | Words Can Kill | older | $7.99 | 92 70% | 2.8k | $22k (exactly $22,052) | Typing Monkey |
 | OMG Words | $9.99 | 72 79% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $21,578) | Dave | |
 | Watchword | $13.99 | 33 90% | 990 | $14k (exactly $13,850) | Big Quail Games | |
 | Lexispell | $8.99 | 31 93% | 930 | $8.4k (exactly $8,361) | MrEliptik | |
 | LexiRogue | $6.99 | 34 82% | 1.0k | $7.1k (exactly $7,130) | LaoWangDev |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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