Games › Deckbuilding › Deckbuilding + Alternate History
Should I ship an Alternate-History Deckbuilding?
Deckbuilding + Alternate History
Only 13 developers shipped an Alternate-History Deckbuilding 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, Kumitantei: Old-School Slaughter, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 54 more are announced, ×6.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×7.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $660; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×225 the market median. Revenue is up 415% on the market; 54 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $657 (exactly $657) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.5k (exactly $4,498) |
| Top 25% | $55k (exactly $55,145) |
| Top 5% | $141k (exactly $141,206) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 33 |
| Announced | 54 |
| 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 up 415% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 21%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Deckbuilding
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
- Alternate History
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 66% positive over 1,037 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $660. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Deckbuilding with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + AutomationFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + 2D FighterFair
- + Party GameFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + LogicFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
Comparable games
Sovereign Syndicate 2024 · $344k 
Kumitantei: Old-School Slaughter 2026 · $141k 
Artist Life Simulator 2022 · $104k 
Liberte 2023 · $91k 
Sanatorium - A Mental Asylum Simulator 2025 · $81k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sovereign Syndicate | older | $19.99 | 573 79% | 17k | $344k (exactly $343,628) | Crimson Herring Studios |
| | Kumitantei: Old-School Slaughter | $14.99 | 314 90% | 9.4k | $141k (exactly $141,206) | Mango Factory | |
| | Artist Life Simulator | older | $19.99 | 173 79% | 5.2k | $104k (exactly $103,748) | Interactive Fate |
| | Liberte | older | $19.99 | 152 63% | 4.6k | $91k (exactly $91,154) | Superstatic |
| | Sanatorium - A Mental Asylum Simulator | $12.99 | 208 59% | 6.2k | $81k (exactly $81,058) | Zeitglas | |
 | Fantasy of Caocao 2 | older | $8.99 | 290 83% | 8.7k | $78k (exactly $78,213) | 桑尼游戏(Sunny Game) |
 | Water Margin Scrolls | $9.99 | 244 40% | 7.3k | $73k (exactly $73,127) | QingHe Games | |
 | Ultimate Hero | $9.99 | 184 65% | 5.5k | $55k (exactly $55,145) | Fishwharf | |
 | 九州风流 | · EA older | $17.99 | 38 60% | 1.1k | $21k (exactly $20,509) | GB |
 | Monastery | · EA older | $15.99 | 39 94% | 1.2k | $19k (exactly $18,708) | Lycan Studio |
 | Three Kingdoms Part One: Battle of Zhuo County | $14.99 | 30 60% | 900 | $13k (exactly $13,491) | JiMoYou | |
 | Millennium Strategy | $14.99 | 21 85% | 630 | $9.4k (exactly $9,444) | MiMo Games | |
 | Under a Desert Sun: Seekers of the Cursed Vessel | · EA | $24.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $4.5k (exactly $4,498) | Revolving Gear Studios |
 | LYMBUS | $9.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) | Happy Accident Studios | |
 | Vox Populi: Germany 2025 | $7.99 | 8 87% | 240 | $1.9k (exactly $1,918) | Velsin | |
 | Ming Dynasty: Cards & Court | $1.99 | 11 36% | 330 | $657 (exactly $657) | YCX GameStudio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.