Do I ship it?

Games › Arcade › Arcade + Tabletop

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tabletop Arcade game?

Arcade + Tabletop

Of 83 developers who shipped a Tabletop 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.. 90 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 54 developers shipped in the last year and 90 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 90 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Tabletop
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 83
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $683 → $1.1k → $239 → $179 → $628 → $898 → $180 (still earning) → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Tabletop: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 83
Bottom 30% $59 (exactly $59)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $2.0k (exactly $1,973)
Top 5% $32k (exactly $32,364)
Developers, 2 yr 83
Released games 258
Announced 90
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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 55% on the market, supply 65% 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Tabletop
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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
Arcade, Tabletop; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Strategy, Board Game
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 4,550 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $59, median $240, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $32k.

3 in 10 developers made under $59. 9 in 10 of the 43 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 90 games are announced against 54 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. + DeckbuildingFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  10. + Card BattlerFair68 devs · median $1.9k · 75 announced
  11. + LootFair147 devs · median $1.9k · 215 announced
  12. + VampiresFair34 devs · median $1.9k · 35 announced

All 270 pairs on the Arcade page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate 2022 · $1.8M Drop Duchy 2025 · $1.3M Drop Pockets 2025 · EA · $109k The Jackbox Survey Scramble 2024 · $95k Dice Have No Eyes 2026 · EA · $76k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate older $9.99 5,918 92% 178k $1.8M (exactly $1,773,625) PUNKCAKE Delicieux
Drop Duchy $14.99 2,962 89% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,332,011) Sleepy Mill Studio
Drop Pockets · EA $14.99 243 83% 7.3k $109k (exactly $109,277) Children of Madness
The Jackbox Survey Scramble $9.99 318 90% 9.5k $95k (exactly $95,305) Jackbox Games, Inc
Dice Have No Eyes · EA $9.99 252 95% 7.6k $76k (exactly $75,524) Franek, Max Cahill
Egyptian Senet older $9.99 200 81% 6.0k $60k (exactly $59,940) Ezzat Studios
Happy Guy older $2.99 620 77% 19k $56k (exactly $55,614) HappyGames
Chessplosion older $11.99 140 95% 4.2k $50k (exactly $50,358) C.T. Matthews
Casino Island Simulator · EA $8.99 120 61% 3.6k $32k (exactly $32,364) Clap Games
Hyper Chess $2.99 321 92% 9.6k $29k (exactly $28,794) Grouch, SuitNtie
Racket Pinball $19.99 37 91% 1.1k $22k (exactly $22,189) NiVision
Running Fable Petite Party $13.99 51 100% 1.5k $21k (exactly $21,405) Seashell Studio
Break Shoot $4.99 106 99% 3.2k $16k (exactly $15,868) UPTRAND
The Original Moorhuhn Hunt $2.99 140 97% 4.2k $13k (exactly $12,558) Higgs Games GmbH, GeekPit Studio

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