Games › Deckbuilding › Deckbuilding + Choose Your Own Adventure
Should I ship a Choose Your Own Adventure Deckbuilding?
Deckbuilding + Choose Your Own Adventure
Of 31 developers who shipped a Choose Your Own Adventure 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.. 56 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.9k, ×6.2 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×766 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 56 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $899 (exactly $899) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) |
| Top 25% | $53k (exactly $52,516) |
| Top 5% | $364k (exactly $363,758) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 31 |
| Released games | 61 |
| Announced | 56 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Deckbuilding
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
- Choose Your Own Adventure
- effort 2 / 10 · high · branching text with light state
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Deckbuilding, Choose Your Own Adventure; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Card Game, Card Battler, Strategy
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 17,445 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Deckbuilding with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + AutomationFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + 2D FighterFair
- + Party GameFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + LogicFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
Comparable games
The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M 
Griftlands 2021 · $8.1M 
Hand of Fate 2015 · $4.8M 
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist 2022 · $3.3M 
Ways of Alchemy 2025 · $364k | 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 | |
| | Griftlands | older | $19.99 | 13,440 93% | 403k | $8.1M (exactly $8,059,968) | Klei Entertainment |
| | Hand of Fate | older | $19.99 | 8,009 89% | 240k | $4.8M (exactly $4,802,997) | Defiant Development |
| | I Was a Teenage Exocolonist | older | $24.99 | 4,443 96% | 133k | $3.3M (exactly $3,330,917) | Northway Games |
| | Ways of Alchemy | $17.99 | 674 74% | 20k | $364k (exactly $363,758) | RocketBrush Games | |
 | Sovereign Syndicate | older | $19.99 | 573 79% | 17k | $344k (exactly $343,628) | Crimson Herring Studios |
 | Ash of Gods: The Way | older | $24.99 | 416 80% | 12k | $312k (exactly $311,875) | AurumDust |
 | Mamon King | $12.99 | 603 90% | 18k | $235k (exactly $234,989) | LiTMUS Co., Ltd. | |
 | Castle Morihisa | older | $14.99 | 348 66% | 10k | $156k (exactly $156,496) | Smokingbear Studio |
 | Fatermyth | older | $9.99 | 486 81% | 15k | $146k (exactly $145,654) | KDream |
 | Frostrain 2 | $10.99 | 374 89% | 11k | $123k (exactly $123,308) | nemonan | |
 | FUTA FUCKS FEMBOYS | $12.99 | 276 88% | 8.3k | $108k (exactly $107,557) | Horny Capybara Studio | |
 | Karigurashi Ren'ai: Living on Borrowed Love | $29.99 | 76 92% | 2.3k | $68k (exactly $68,377) | ASa Project | |
 | Stash: A Card Looter | $9.99 | 186 79% | 5.6k | $56k (exactly $55,744) | WheeGaming | |
 | Succubless | $11.99 | 146 67% | 4.4k | $53k (exactly $52,516) | Supa Doge | |
 | Takara Cards | $14.99 | 112 83% | 3.4k | $50k (exactly $50,366) | Post Mortem Pixels | |
 | Morningstar: Book of the Fallen | $14.99 | 67 94% | 2.0k | $30k (exactly $30,130) | Droid Productions |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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