Do I ship it?

GamesCharacter CustomizationCharacter Customization + Deckbuilding

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Character Customization Deckbuilding?

Character Customization + Deckbuilding

Of 64 developers who shipped a Character Customization 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.. 156 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×671 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 156 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 156 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Customization + Deckbuilding
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 64
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $29k → $5.4k → $23k → $20k → $479 → $7.2k → $13k (still earning) → $1.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Customization + Deckbuilding: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 64
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,310)
Top 25% $31k (exactly $30,580)
Top 5% $421k (exactly $421,078)
Developers, 2 yr 64
Released games 163
Announced 156
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 15% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, 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.

Character Customization
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Character Customization, Deckbuilding; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Card Game
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 23,107 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $30k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 156 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Football (American)Strong odds14 devs · median $3.6k · 12 announced
  2. + Real-TimeStrong odds7 devs · median $2.0k · 6 announced
  3. + Music-Based Procedural GenerationFair10 devs · median $18k · 8 announced
  4. + TransportationFair19 devs · median $7.2k · 24 announced
  5. + MinigamesFair27 devs · median $5.7k · 34 announced
  6. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $3.2k · 13 announced
  7. + BikesFair11 devs · median $1.5k · 10 announced
  8. + IdlerFair210 devs · median $1.2k · 286 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair146 devs · median $1.2k · 190 announced
  10. + GamblingFair30 devs · median $836 · 32 announced
  11. + Precision PlatformerFair103 devs · median $748 · 116 announced
  12. + TypingFair27 devs · median $539 · 38 announced

All 250 pairs on the Character Customization page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Marvel's Midnight Suns older $59.99 17,060 82% 512k $31M (exactly $30,702,882) Firaxis Games
INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road $69.99 11,180 88% 335k $23M (exactly $23,474,646) LEVEL5 Inc.
暖雪 Warm Snow older $17.99 35,270 92% 1.1M $19M (exactly $19,035,219) BadMudStudio
The Matchless Kungfu $19.99 6,755 79% 203k $4.1M (exactly $4,050,973) HuanMos Game
Esports Godfather older $19.99 4,319 90% 130k $2.6M (exactly $2,590,104) Asteroid Game Studio
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.)
Ooblets older $29.99 1,388 91% 42k $1.2M (exactly $1,248,784) Glumberland
Moonbreaker older $29.99 1,289 84% 39k $1.2M (exactly $1,159,713) Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Megaloot older $9.99 3,808 71% 114k $1.1M (exactly $1,141,258) axilirate
Warhammer Underworlds - Shadespire Edition (Classic) older $29.99 1,059 70% 32k $953k (exactly $952,782) Steel Sky Productions, Tin Man Games
Dice Gambit $24.99 1,080 87% 32k $810k (exactly $809,676) Chromatic Ink
Overlooting $9.99 1,405 81% 42k $421k (exactly $421,078) Posing Possums
Youtubers Life 3 $19.99 468 50% 14k $281k (exactly $280,660) UPLAY Online
9th Dawn Remake $15.99 514 86% 15k $247k (exactly $246,566) Valorware
Bioweaver $6.99 668 77% 20k $140k (exactly $140,080) Emprom Game, Wild Kid Games
DreamEcho $11.99 369 79% 11k $133k (exactly $132,729) HotWaterStudio
Grail $9.99 345 89% 10k $103k (exactly $103,396) Sokpop Collective
DOG WITCH $9.99 323 89% 9.7k $97k (exactly $96,803) Heckmouse

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