Do I ship it?

Games › Roguelite › Roguelite + Steampunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Steampunk Roguelite?

Roguelite + Steampunk

Of 29 developers who shipped a Steampunk 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.. 69 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $8.3k, ×13 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $530k, ×856 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 69 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 13.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 69 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelite + Steampunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $14k → $29k → $1.2k → $29k → $49k → $4.8k (still earning) → $4.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelite + Steampunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $3.0k (exactly $2,997)
Median $8.3k (exactly $8,284)
Top 25% $45k (exactly $44,520)
Top 5% $538k (exactly $537,841)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 75
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 25% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Roguelite
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Steampunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Roguelite; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Strategy, Action Roguelike
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

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 7,951 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.0k, median $8.3k, 1 in 4 over $44k, 1 in 20 over $530k.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.0k. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 69 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Roguelite with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-TimeFair11 devs · median $11k · 14 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair24 devs · median $9.3k · 28 announced
  3. + VampiresFair60 devs · median $4.8k · 62 announced
  4. + TypingFair29 devs · median $2.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Grand StrategyFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  6. + IdlerFair166 devs · median $1.5k · 235 announced
  7. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.3k · 22 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair23 devs · median $1.1k · 23 announced
  9. + Score AttackFair344 devs · median $719 · 450 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair94 devs · median $600 · 121 announced
  11. + LogicFair144 devs · median $599 · 143 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds21 devs · median $74k · 24 announced

All 229 pairs on the Roguelite page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

SUNLESS SEA 2015 · $4.3M Abyssus 2025 · $3.8M We Need To Go Deeper 2019 · $2.2M Little Noah: Scion of Paradise 2022 · $977k Marfusha:Sentinel Girls 2021 · $747k
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
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
Dream Engines: Nomad Cities older $29.99 552 73% 17k $497k (exactly $496,634) Suncrash
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
Dungeons of Aether older $14.99 609 82% 18k $274k (exactly $273,867) Aether Studios, ampersandbear
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
Exark $14.99 99 73% 3.0k $45k (exactly $44,520) Robot Cat Limited
The Last Citadel $14.99 70 85% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,479) Honest Demon
Break Siege · EA $14.99 66 84% 2.0k $30k (exactly $29,680) FojoGames

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.