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Should I ship a Science Roguelite?
Roguelite + Science
Of 26 developers who shipped a Science Roguelite 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.. 47 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $630, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×414 the market median. Revenue is up 180% on the market; 47 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $628 (exactly $628) |
| Top 25% | $4.8k (exactly $4,823) |
| Top 5% | $197k (exactly $196,677) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 58 |
| Announced | 47 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 180% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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
- Roguelite; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Roguelike
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 3,813 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Roguelite with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-TimeFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + TypingFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DogsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + DwarvesPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Star Birds | · EA | $19.99 | 2,990 92% | 90k | $1.8M (exactly $1,793,103) | Toukana Interactive |
| | Genesis Alpha One Deluxe Edition | older | $19.99 | 1,566 73% | 47k | $939k (exactly $939,130) | Radiation Blue |
| | Scavenger SV-4 | older | $14.99 | 653 91% | 20k | $294k (exactly $293,654) | Deric Ruhl |
| | Genome Guardian | older | $11.99 | 711 92% | 21k | $256k (exactly $255,747) | Alpherior |
| | Genome Guardian 2 | · EA | $15.99 | 410 95% | 12k | $197k (exactly $196,677) | Alpherior |
| | Crawling Lab | older | $4.99 | 713 83% | 21k | $107k (exactly $106,736) | eTIRUe |
| | Cell Command | $17.99 | 159 97% | 4.8k | $86k (exactly $85,812) | Alpherior | |
| | Tesla Force | older | $16.99 | 148 77% | 4.4k | $75k (exactly $75,436) | 10tons Ltd |
| | Evolve Lab | · EA | $14.99 | 69 94% | 2.1k | $31k (exactly $31,029) | SiRen Games |
| | Periapsis: Eclipse | · EA | $14.99 | 53 71% | 1.6k | $24k (exactly $23,834) | Skytrellis Games |
| | C.A.R.S. - Creating A Ridiculous Shitshow | $7.99 | 40 97% | 1.2k | $9.6k (exactly $9,588) | 3Dads Studios | |
| | Orebits | $6.99 | 42 66% | 1.3k | $8.8k (exactly $8,807) | Upgraded Studio | |
| | MINERALS: Deep Core Mining | $6.99 | 23 78% | 690 | $4.8k (exactly $4,823) | THINK & FEEL | |
| | Virus Rush + Hazard of the Ages | $11.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $4.7k (exactly $4,676) | STRANGER | |
| | IMRY | $4.99 | 14 85% | 420 | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) | Igor Yakunin |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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