Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Western
Should I ship a Western Roguelike?
Roguelike + Western
Of 36 developers who shipped a Western 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.. 36 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×223 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 36 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,647) |
| Top 25% | $28k (exactly $28,144) |
| Top 5% | $140k (exactly $140,194) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 36 |
| Released games | 62 |
| Announced | 36 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 6%, 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Procedural Generation, Action
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 73% positive over 1,996 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
Outlaws of the Old West 2019 · EA · $3.3M 
West of Dead 2020 · $773k 
Colt Canyon 2020 · $694k 
Wild Bastards 2024 · $647k 
Bounty of One 2023 · $576k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Outlaws of the Old West | · EA older | $19.99 | 5,584 58% | 168k | $3.3M (exactly $3,348,725) | Virtual Basement LLC |
| | West of Dead | older | $19.99 | 1,289 76% | 39k | $773k (exactly $773,013) | Upstream Arcade |
| | Colt Canyon | older | $14.99 | 1,543 90% | 46k | $694k (exactly $693,887) | Retrific |
| | Wild Bastards | older | $34.99 | 616 74% | 18k | $647k (exactly $646,615) | Blue Manchu |
| | Bounty of One | older | $6.99 | 2,749 88% | 82k | $576k (exactly $576,465) | OptizOnion |
 | Soulslinger: Envoy of Death | $19.99 | 472 63% | 14k | $283k (exactly $283,058) | Elder Games | |
 | Super Amazing Wagon Adventure | older | $2.99 | 1,638 95% | 49k | $147k (exactly $146,929) | sparsevector |
 | Nightmare Frontier | $24.99 | 187 69% | 5.6k | $140k (exactly $140,194) | Ice Code Games | |
 | Dust & Neon | older | $14.99 | 284 76% | 8.5k | $128k (exactly $127,715) | David Marquardt Studios |
 | Dino Path Trail | $14.99 | 197 76% | 5.9k | $89k (exactly $88,591) | Void Pointer | |
 | Graveyard Gunslingers | $7.99 | 224 58% | 6.7k | $54k (exactly $53,693) | PyroPhysics | |
 | Cowboy 3030 | $14.99 | 96 87% | 2.9k | $43k (exactly $43,171) | Soy Boy Games | |
 | Gold Miner:Classic Edition | $3.99 | 350 82% | 11k | $42k (exactly $41,895) | GameRival | |
 | Brawl To The West | $8.99 | 139 71% | 4.2k | $37k (exactly $37,488) | GagaRush | |
 | ColdRidge | $9.99 | 97 73% | 2.9k | $29k (exactly $29,071) | Frog Collective | |
 | Barrel Roll | $4.99 | 188 96% | 5.6k | $28k (exactly $28,144) | Barrel Roll | |
 | Boogey Hunters | $6.99 | 46 84% | 1.4k | $9.6k (exactly $9,646) | Keep The Engine Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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