Do I ship it?

Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Runner

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Runner Souls-like?

Souls-like + Runner

Only 9 developers shipped a Runner Souls-like in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Donald Jump, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 11 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $0 against a market of $1.5k. 11 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 11 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Runner
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $359 → $419 → $446 → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Souls-like + Runner: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $0 (exactly $0)
Top 25% $446 (exactly $446)
Top 5% $776 (exactly $776)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 44
Announced 11
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $2.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Runner
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like, Runner
Price point
$2.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 4 games average 90% positive over 50 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $0, 1 in 4 over $440, 1 in 20 over $770.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 11 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  9. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  10. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Neko Journey 2022 · $4.3k Katana Robo: RTA 2023 · $3.6k Roll the Ball 2024 · $3.1k Psychocat: The Door 2021 · $2.5k Blocky Ascent 2024 · $2.5k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Neko Journey older $4.99 29 58% 870 $4.3k (exactly $4,341) Feas, Axyos Games
Katana Robo: RTA older $7.99 15 66% 450 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Twins Halo
Roll the Ball older $6.99 15 100% 450 $3.1k (exactly $3,146) InBetween Realities
Psychocat: The Door older $4.99 17 82% 510 $2.5k (exactly $2,545) Chewa
Blocky Ascent older $4.99 17 94% 510 $2.5k (exactly $2,545) N&N Games
Beat Me If You Can older $1.99 14 71% 420 $836 (exactly $836) Ibrahim sofan
Donald Jump $1.99 13 100% 390 $776 (exactly $776) Small but Mighty Games
Cave Runner older $11.99 2 50% 60 $719 (exactly $719) BadCat Studios
Skuf for altushki $0.99 20 80% 600 $594 (exactly $594) Skuf
Sweet Pea older $7.99 2 100% 60 $479 (exactly $479) Chris Tharp
Nice Pro? $0.99 15 100% 450 $446 (exactly $446) NicePro
Ultimate super boy $2.99 2 50% 60 $179 (exactly $179) WaterGames
Slippy Bear $10.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Daruma The Factory, Inc.
Desert Dino Run $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Glitch Monster
Moving Forward with Cat $11.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Daruma The Factory, Inc.
Dash Trails $9.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Ochiai Retsuto
Parallel Self $2.50 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) sunoka
Planet Fatta $1.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Mykola Kodenko

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