Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Steampunk
Should I ship a Steampunk Roguelike?
Roguelike + Steampunk
Of 40 developers who shipped a Steampunk 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.. 69 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $7.6k, ×12 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $660; 1 in 20 cleared $530k, ×856 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 69 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $659 (exactly $659) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.6k (exactly $7,645) |
| Top 25% | $45k (exactly $44,520) |
| Top 5% | $538k (exactly $537,841) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 88 |
| Announced | 69 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 70% on the market, supply 135% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Roguelike; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Strategy, RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 8,538 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $660. 6 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 69 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Roguelike with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + JRPGFair
- + 6DOFFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + VampiresFair
- + DogsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + SuperheroFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
Comparable games
SUNLESS SEA 2015 · $4.3M 
Abyssus 2025 · $3.8M 
We Need To Go Deeper 2019 · $2.2M 
Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition 2019 · $2.0M 
Sir, You Are Being Hunted 2014 · $1.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | SUNLESS SEA | older | $18.99 | 7,625 83% | 229k | $4.3M (exactly $4,343,962) | Failbetter Games |
| | Abyssus | $24.99 | 5,014 84% | 150k | $3.8M (exactly $3,758,996) | DoubleMoose Games | |
| | We Need To Go Deeper | older | $15.99 | 4,652 86% | 140k | $2.2M (exactly $2,231,564) | Deli Interactive LLC |
| | Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition | older | $24.99 | 2,661 84% | 80k | $2.0M (exactly $1,994,952) | Failbetter Games |
| | Sir, You Are Being Hunted | older | $19.99 | 2,875 79% | 86k | $1.7M (exactly $1,724,137) | Big Robot Ltd |
 | Little Noah: Scion of Paradise | older | $14.99 | 2,172 92% | 65k | $977k (exactly $976,748) | Cygames, Inc., Grounding Inc. |
 | Marfusha:Sentinel Girls | older | $7.99 | 3,116 93% | 93k | $747k (exactly $746,905) | hinyari9 |
 | FrostBound | $14.99 | 1,196 82% | 36k | $538k (exactly $537,841) | Lyra Studio | |
 | Ironcast | older | $14.99 | 774 72% | 23k | $348k (exactly $348,068) | Dreadbit |
 | Swarm Grinder | older | $7.99 | 1,163 76% | 35k | $279k (exactly $278,771) | Last Bite Games |
 | Castle Of Alchemists | $14.99 | 618 80% | 19k | $278k (exactly $277,915) | Team Machiavelli | |
 | Dead Weight | $12.99 | 575 82% | 17k | $224k (exactly $224,078) | Klukva Games | |
 | Grit and Valor - 1949 | $19.99 | 274 75% | 8.2k | $164k (exactly $164,318) | Milky Tea Studios | |
 | Hunter's Moon: A Sovereign Syndicate Adventure | $19.99 | 205 83% | 6.2k | $123k (exactly $122,938) | Crimson Herring Studios | |
 | Airships: Lost Flotilla | $8.99 | 290 92% | 8.7k | $78k (exactly $78,213) | David Stark | |
 | Slyders | $9.99 | 162 85% | 4.9k | $49k (exactly $48,551) | Kato Games | |
 | Pirates Outlaws 2: Heritage | · EA | $14.99 | 105 60% | 3.2k | $47k (exactly $47,218) | Fabled Game |
 | Exark | $14.99 | 99 73% | 3.0k | $45k (exactly $44,520) | Robot Cat Limited |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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