Do I ship it?

Games › Arcade › Arcade + Deckbuilding

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Deckbuilding Arcade game?

Arcade + Deckbuilding

Of 170 developers who shipped a Deckbuilding Arcade game 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.. 234 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×4.0 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 234 games are announced against 125 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 234 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Deckbuilding
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 170
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $239 → $2.5k → $2.2k → $719 → $2.7k → $2.5k → $2.7k (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Deckbuilding: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 170
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,918)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $11,534)
Top 5% $287k (exactly $287,400)
Developers, 2 yr 170
Released games 236
Announced 234
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 55% on the market, supply 170% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Arcade, Deckbuilding; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Roguelite, Strategy
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 35,557 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $280k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 51 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 234 games are announced against 125 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair59 devs · median $4.3k · 88 announced
  2. + TrainsFair20 devs · median $3.1k · 16 announced
  3. + Visual NovelFair101 devs · median $2.6k · 84 announced
  4. + MiningFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  5. + FaithFair16 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  6. + Turn-BasedFair35 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  7. + EconomyFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair72 devs · median $2.1k · 61 announced
  9. + Card BattlerFair68 devs · median $1.9k · 75 announced
  10. + LootFair147 devs · median $1.9k · 215 announced
  11. + VampiresFair34 devs · median $1.9k · 35 announced
  12. + RomanceFair58 devs · median $1.8k · 49 announced

All 270 pairs on the Arcade page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Balatro 2024 · $72M ROUNDS 2021 · $6.4M Nubby's Number Factory 2025 · $2.7M SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION 2019 · $2.5M Dungeon Clawler 2026 · $1.7M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Balatro older $14.99 160,715 97% 4.8M $72M (exactly $72,273,536) LocalThunk
ROUNDS older $5.99 35,738 95% 1.1M $6.4M (exactly $6,422,119) Landfall
Nubby's Number Factory $4.99 18,138 97% 544k $2.7M (exactly $2,715,259) MogDogBlog Productions
SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION older $59.99 1,404 82% 42k $2.5M (exactly $2,526,779) Dimps Corporation, SAFARI GAMES Co., Lt… (Dimps Corporation, SAFARI GAMES Co., Ltd.)
Dungeon Clawler $14.99 3,716 88% 111k $1.7M (exactly $1,671,085) Stray Fawn Studio
RACCOIN: Coin Pusher Roguelike $11.99 4,239 82% 127k $1.5M (exactly $1,524,768) Doraccoon
Heretic's Fork older $9.99 3,097 85% 93k $928k (exactly $928,171) 9FingerGames
Gambonanza $14.99 1,604 74% 48k $721k (exactly $721,319) Blukulélé
Omelet You Cook $14.99 1,523 97% 46k $685k (exactly $684,893) Dan Schumacher, Hjalte Tagmose
Dice A Million $12.99 1,075 90% 32k $419k (exactly $418,928) countlessnights
This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker $5.99 1,781 86% 53k $320k (exactly $320,046) Mash
Cursed Words: The Word Game That Isn't $14.99 698 95% 21k $314k (exactly $313,891) Buried Things
A Gentlemen's Dispute $7.99 1,199 94% 36k $287k (exactly $287,400) Blast Furnace Games
Slime 3K: Rise Against Despot $4.99 1,584 79% 48k $237k (exactly $237,125) Konfa Games

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