Do I ship it?

Games › Arcade › Arcade + Roguelike Deckbuilder

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roguelike Deckbuilder Arcade game?

Arcade + Roguelike Deckbuilder

Of 59 developers who shipped a Roguelike Deckbuilder 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.. 88 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.3k, ×9.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.7k. Revenue is up 400% on the market; 88 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 400% on the market, 88 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Roguelike Deckbuilder
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 59
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $269 → $4.3k → $13k → $8.2k (still earning) → $4.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Roguelike Deckbuilder: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 59
Bottom 30% $1.6k (exactly $1,647)
Median $4.3k (exactly $4,316)
Top 25% $35k (exactly $35,463)
Top 5% $721k (exactly $721,319)
Developers, 2 yr 59
Released games 75
Announced 88
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 up 400% on the market, supply 220% 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
Roguelike Deckbuilder
effort 3 / 10 · high · deckbuilding rules plus procedural runs

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Arcade, Roguelike Deckbuilder; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Deckbuilding, Roguelike, Strategy
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 14,414 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.7k, median $4.3k, 1 in 4 over $35k, 1 in 20 over $720k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 88 games are announced against 45 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. + TrainsFair20 devs · median $3.1k · 16 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair101 devs · median $2.6k · 84 announced
  3. + MiningFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  4. + FaithFair16 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  5. + Turn-BasedFair35 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  6. + EconomyFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  7. + LGBTQ+Fair72 devs · median $2.1k · 61 announced
  8. + DeckbuildingFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 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 Dungeon Clawler 2026 · $1.7M RACCOIN: Coin Pusher Roguelike 2026 · $1.5M Heretic's Fork 2023 · $928k
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
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
Cursed Words: The Word Game That Isn't $14.99 698 95% 21k $314k (exactly $313,891) Buried Things
Dogpile $9.99 708 95% 21k $212k (exactly $212,188) Studio Folly, Toot Games, Foot
Runeborn $13.99 284 80% 8.5k $119k (exactly $119,195) iDream Interactive
The Loopler $9.99 349 90% 10k $105k (exactly $104,595) Mheep
Dicealot $14.99 218 78% 6.5k $98k (exactly $98,035) goodviewgames

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