Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Deckbuilding

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Deckbuilding?

Combat + Deckbuilding

Of 189 developers who shipped a Combat 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.. 403 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×585 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 403 games are announced against 108 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 403 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Deckbuilding
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 189
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $14k → $2.7k → $9.4k → $4.6k → $598 → $4.8k → $719 (still earning) → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Deckbuilding: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 189
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $7.0k (exactly $7,012)
Top 5% $367k (exactly $367,405)
Developers, 2 yr 189
Released games 330
Announced 403
Effort 5 / 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 25% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat, Deckbuilding; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Roguelite
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, 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 85% positive over 56,088 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $7.0k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 96 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 403 games are announced against 108 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors 2026 · $5.6M The Matchless Kungfu 2024 · $4.1M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M Lost in Random™ 2021 · $4.0M
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
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors $9.99 18,587 96% 558k $5.6M (exactly $5,570,524) poncle, Nosebleed Interactive
The Matchless Kungfu $19.99 6,755 79% 203k $4.1M (exactly $4,050,973) HuanMos Game
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Lost in Random™ older $29.99 4,479 88% 134k $4.0M (exactly $4,029,756) Zoink, Thunderful
Dune: Imperium older $22.99 3,806 94% 114k $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) Dire Wolf
Meme Mayhem older $16.99 4,849 74% 145k $2.5M (exactly $2,471,535) Cr3 Studio
Cobalt Core older $19.99 4,067 95% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,438,980) Rocket Rat Games
Aces & Adventures older $19.99 2,220 89% 67k $1.3M (exactly $1,331,334) Triple.B.Titles
Border Pioneer $14.99 1,675 86% 50k $753k (exactly $753,248) Yahzj Games
Card-en-Ciel $24.99 856 90% 26k $642k (exactly $641,743) INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
OVIS LOOP · EA $16.99 1,083 88% 32k $552k (exactly $552,005) LIFUEL
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games
Half-Demon Shinobi $10.99 1,242 89% 37k $409k (exactly $409,487) 樹懶叫工作室, 紳士吉娃, Maker製造機
Down with the Ship · EA $14.99 817 93% 25k $367k (exactly $367,405) Iron Anchor Games

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