Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Card Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Card Game Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Card Game

Of 74 developers who shipped a Card Game Action 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.. 136 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×275 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 136 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 136 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Card Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 74
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $3.4k → $1.5k → $89 → $3.3k → $599 → $2.7k (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Card Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 74
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $450 (exactly $450)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,778)
Top 5% $131k (exactly $130,669)
Developers, 2 yr 74
Released games 144
Announced 136
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 10% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Action Roguelike
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Card Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Action Roguelike, Card Game; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Action, Strategy
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, First-Person, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 40,553 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $450, 1 in 4 over $3.7k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 136 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action Roguelike with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomanceStrong odds22 devs · median $6.5k · 17 announced
  2. + Creature CollectorFair39 devs · median $1.8k · 54 announced
  3. + SportsFair41 devs · median $1.6k · 39 announced
  4. + Boss RushFair20 devs · median $1.6k · 19 announced
  5. + VampiresFair55 devs · median $1.3k · 52 announced
  6. + IdlerFair44 devs · median $1.0k · 55 announced
  7. + DogsFair19 devs · median $899 · 18 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerFair36 devs · median $629 · 38 announced
  9. + FaithFair16 devs · median $449 · 21 announced
  10. + Character Action GamePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 40 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $12k · 14 announced
  12. + MechsPoor odds44 devs · median $12k · 85 announced

All 205 pairs on the Action Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors 2026 · $5.6M Hand of Fate 2015 · $4.8M Hand of Fate 2 2017 · $4.7M Gamble With Your Friends 2026 · $4.5M One Step From Eden 2020 · $3.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors $9.99 18,587 96% 558k $5.6M (exactly $5,570,524) poncle, Nosebleed Interactive
Hand of Fate older $19.99 8,009 89% 240k $4.8M (exactly $4,802,997) Defiant Development
Hand of Fate 2 older $29.99 5,273 84% 158k $4.7M (exactly $4,744,118) Defiant Development
Gamble With Your Friends $7.99 18,883 89% 566k $4.5M (exactly $4,526,255) TEAM GWYF
One Step From Eden older $19.99 6,039 94% 181k $3.6M (exactly $3,621,588) Thomas Moon Kang
Aces & Adventures older $19.99 2,220 89% 67k $1.3M (exactly $1,331,334) Triple.B.Titles
Demon Lord: Just a Block $12.99 2,065 96% 62k $805k (exactly $804,730) YuWave
FORCED SHOWDOWN older $19.99 491 82% 15k $294k (exactly $294,453) BetaDwarf
Warlords Under Siege $9.99 436 77% 13k $131k (exactly $130,669) RedKar Devs
Duelists of Eden older $4.99 856 95% 26k $128k (exactly $128,143) Thomas Moon Kang
Golden Swirl $19.99 149 92% 4.5k $89k (exactly $89,355) Snako Production
Lucky Shot $12.99 147 97% 4.4k $57k (exactly $57,286) Deliver Games
Into the Restless Ruins $14.99 109 83% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,017) Ant Workshop Ltd
Blackjack Descent $7.99 88 79% 2.6k $21k (exactly $21,094) CGI LAB GAMES
Moon Watch · EA $9.99 56 57% 1.7k $17k (exactly $16,783) Jaspel
Decks of Dexterity $14.99 33 100% 990 $15k (exactly $14,840) Coded Games

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