Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Mystery Dungeon

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Dungeon?

Mystery Dungeon

Of 451 developers who shipped a Mystery Dungeon 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.. 579 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×303 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 579 games are announced against 243 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 579 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Mystery Dungeon
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 451
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $1.2k → $898 → $748 → $449 → $987 → $386 (still earning) → $358 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Mystery Dungeon: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 451
Bottom 30% $148 (exactly $148)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $4.7k (exactly $4,676)
Top 5% $144k (exactly $143,928)
Developers, 2 yr 451
Released games 1,313
Announced 579
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 10% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

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

Mystery Dungeon
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Mystery Dungeon
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 19,983 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $600, 1 in 4 over $4.6k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 257 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 579 games are announced against 243 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Mystery Dungeon

117 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Mystery Dungeon + Puzzle Dead $298 130 devs
  2. Mystery Dungeon + Detective Dead $298 29 devs
  3. Mystery Dungeon + Sokoban Dead $298 5 devs
  4. Real Time Tactics + Mystery Dungeon Dead $240 12 devs
  5. Mystery Dungeon + Supernatural Dead $239 38 devs
  6. Mystery Dungeon + Score Attack Dead $238 7 devs
  7. Mystery Dungeon + Puzzle Platformer Dead $210 31 devs
  8. Mystery Dungeon + Point & Click Dead $210 26 devs
  9. Life Sim + Mystery Dungeon Dead $178 7 devs
  10. Mystery Dungeon + Futuristic Dead $150 18 devs
  11. Mystery Dungeon + Precision Platformer Dead $150 5 devs
  12. Collectathon + Mystery Dungeon Dead $120 13 devs
  13. 3D Fighter + Mystery Dungeon Dead $120 7 devs
  14. Mystery Dungeon + Shoot 'Em Up Dead $120 6 devs
  15. Mystery Dungeon + Artificial Intelligence Dead $60 10 devs
  16. Mystery Dungeon + Runner Dead $60 10 devs
  17. Mystery Dungeon + Nature Dead $59 10 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy 2026 · $5.3M Elin 2024 · EA · $5.0M Reventure 2019 · $3.1M Touhou Genso Wanderer -Reloaded- 2018 · $1.8M Hammerwatch II 2023 · $1.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy $49.99 3,558 92% 107k $5.3M (exactly $5,335,933) Asobo Studio
Elin · EA $19.99 8,406 93% 252k $5.0M (exactly $5,041,078) Lafrontier
Reventure older $12.34 8,451 95% 254k $3.1M (exactly $3,128,560) Pixelatto
Touhou Genso Wanderer -Reloaded- older $34.99 1,734 93% 52k $1.8M (exactly $1,820,180) AQUASTYLE
Hammerwatch II older $24.99 1,871 60% 56k $1.4M (exactly $1,402,689) Crackshell
ENDLESS Dungeon™ - Definitive Edition older $14.99 2,953 64% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,327,964) AMPLITUDE Studios
Boyfriend Dungeon older $19.99 2,105 91% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,262,368) Kitfox Games
The Classrooms · EA older $12.99 3,040 89% 91k $1.2M (exactly $1,184,688) Xefier Games, Hillcrest Games Inc.
Goblin Cleanup · EA $19.99 1,615 87% 48k $969k (exactly $968,515) Crisalu Games
Escape Dungeon 2 older $17.99 1,700 93% 51k $917k (exactly $917,490) Hide Games
FANTASIAN Neo Dimension $49.99 500 76% 15k $750k (exactly $749,850) Mistwalker Corporation
Stonemachia $19.99 1,244 95% 37k $746k (exactly $746,027) Crossfall Games
Spark in the Dark · EA $16.99 1,174 87% 35k $598k (exactly $598,388) Stellar Fish
The Shimmering Horizon and Cursed Blacksmith $19.99 983 58% 29k $590k (exactly $589,505) Ason
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island $39.99 470 85% 14k $564k (exactly $563,859) Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Rustil: Eternal Labyrinth Castle $18.99 950 71% 29k $541k (exactly $541,215) KTMG LLC.
Skull Horde $12.99 1,083 81% 32k $422k (exactly $422,045) 8BitSkull

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