Games › Trading › Trading + Roguelike
Should I ship a Trading Roguelike?
Trading + Roguelike
Of 23 developers who shipped a Trading 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.. 39 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×437 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 39 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) |
| Top 5% | $207k (exactly $207,392) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 42 |
| Announced | 39 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 up 80% on the market, supply 185% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 2%, 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
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Trading, Roguelike; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Crafting, Economy
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 4,021 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Trading with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + MiningFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + FlightPoor odds
- + SportsPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + PhysicsPoor odds
- + DrivingPoor odds
- + LootPoor odds
Comparable games
《蜀山：初章》买断版 2022 · $4.3M 
Ostranauts 2026 · $1.9M 
Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator 2021 · $496k 
Military Incremental Complex 2025 · $207k 
Transcendence 2015 · $96k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 《蜀山：初章》买断版 | older | $24.99 | 5,772 74% | 173k | $4.3M (exactly $4,327,268) | 重楼工作室 |
| | Ostranauts | $19.99 | 3,137 77% | 94k | $1.9M (exactly $1,881,259) | Blue Bottle Games | |
| | Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator | older | $19.99 | 827 92% | 25k | $496k (exactly $495,952) | Strange Scaffold |
| | Military Incremental Complex | $9.99 | 692 82% | 21k | $207k (exactly $207,392) | Space Kraken Studios | |
| | Transcendence | older | $14.99 | 214 88% | 6.4k | $96k (exactly $96,236) | Kronosaur Productions |
 | Trapper: Drug Dealing RPG | · EA older | $19.99 | 102 88% | 3.1k | $61k (exactly $61,169) | Lathon Gaming |
 | BIG LOOT | · EA | $15.99 | 83 68% | 2.5k | $40k (exactly $39,815) | Reverie Clouds |
 | The Chronicles of Quiver Dick | older | $2.99 | 173 93% | 5.2k | $16k (exactly $15,518) | Crankage Games |
 | Warp to Sector One | · EA | $11.99 | 41 92% | 1.2k | $15k (exactly $14,748) | hextor.Games |
 | Bootleg Steamer | older | $14.99 | 23 73% | 690 | $10k (exactly $10,343) | Team Junkfish |
 | King's Subsidy | $11.99 | 15 80% | 450 | $5.4k (exactly $5,396) | Marcin Henzel | |
 | Commander Bug Wars | $9.99 | 18 83% | 540 | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) | GoldenGod Games | |
 | TradingLife | · EA | $11.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.6k (exactly $3,597) | Fun(ctor) Studio |
 | 白影酒馆 Tavern Revisited | $9.99 | 11 63% | 330 | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) | Stray Dog Game Studio | |
 | Arms Dealer | $5.99 | 9 100% | 270 | $1.6k (exactly $1,617) | Koro Pixel Studio | |
 | Seed 2313 | $4.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $748 (exactly $748) | DaShanGames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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