Do I ship it?

Games › Deckbuilding › Deckbuilding + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist Deckbuilding?

Deckbuilding + Capitalism

Of 32 developers who shipped a Capitalist Deckbuilding 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.. 73 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×6.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×710 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 73 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 73 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Deckbuilding + Capitalism
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $198k → $13k → $50k → $20k → $1.2k (still earning) → $2.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Deckbuilding + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Median $3.3k (exactly $3,297)
Top 25% $30k (exactly $30,010)
Top 5% $337k (exactly $337,462)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 46
Announced 73
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 85% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 2%, 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.

Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
Capitalism
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Deckbuilding; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Auto Battler, Procedural Generation
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.89 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.89 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 18,082 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $3.3k, 1 in 4 over $30k, 1 in 20 over $330k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 5 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Deckbuilding with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + AutomationFair44 devs · median $2.8k · 51 announced
  2. + Inventory ManagementFair98 devs · median $2.5k · 137 announced
  3. + ArcadeFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  4. + 2D FighterFair17 devs · median $959 · 12 announced
  5. + Party GameFair22 devs · median $719 · 30 announced
  6. + SwordplayFair11 devs · median $599 · 13 announced
  7. + Point & ClickFair34 devs · median $598 · 36 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair53 devs · median $537 · 79 announced
  9. + LogicFair84 devs · median $419 · 118 announced
  10. + LovecraftianPoor odds19 devs · median $72k · 56 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $30k · 31 announced
  12. + Visual NovelPoor odds36 devs · median $26k · 64 announced

All 141 pairs on the Deckbuilding page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M Potionomics 2022 · $5.2M Luck be a Landlord 2023 · $3.1M Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers 2024 · $1.3M Q-UP 2025 · $337k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
Potionomics older $24.99 6,973 90% 209k $5.2M (exactly $5,227,658) Voracious Games
Luck be a Landlord older $9.99 10,213 93% 306k $3.1M (exactly $3,060,836) TrampolineTales
Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers older $14.99 2,988 81% 90k $1.3M (exactly $1,343,704) Purple Moss Collectors
Q-UP $9.99 1,126 93% 34k $337k (exactly $337,462) Everybody House Games
Insider Trading $12.89 600 79% 18k $232k (exactly $232,020) Naiive
Terracards · EA older $8.99 733 84% 22k $198k (exactly $197,690) Pixel Purrfect
Another Farm Roguelike: Rebirth $6.99 433 69% 13k $91k (exactly $90,800) Zabbo Games
Urban Cards older $14.99 156 75% 4.7k $70k (exactly $70,153) Hues Games
Farm Keeper older $4.99 390 91% 12k $58k (exactly $58,383) Cuddle Code
Rentlord $4.99 374 70% 11k $56k (exactly $55,988) verty
SuperTaxCity $9.99 166 89% 5.0k $50k (exactly $49,750) soramame-koubou
Coin Tavern $9.99 114 85% 3.4k $34k (exactly $34,166) Woven Dream Isle
FeeBay Simulator $5.99 167 91% 5.0k $30k (exactly $30,010) Lake Country Games
回到2001买房子 $19.99 48 72% 1.4k $29k (exactly $28,786) 新起点制作组
Spinera $6.99 123 77% 3.7k $26k (exactly $25,793) Arvis Games

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