Do I ship it?

Games › Creature Collector › Creature Collector + Deckbuilding

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Deckbuilding Creature Collector?

Creature Collector + Deckbuilding

Of 62 developers who shipped a Deckbuilding Creature Collector 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.. 119 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.8k, ×6.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $230k, ×374 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 119 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 119 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Creature Collector + Deckbuilding
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 62
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $143k → $27k → $18k → $7.0k → $6.5k → $3.1k (still earning) → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Creature Collector + Deckbuilding: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 62
Bottom 30% $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Median $3.8k (exactly $3,774)
Top 25% $31k (exactly $30,585)
Top 5% $235k (exactly $234,989)
Developers, 2 yr 62
Released games 124
Announced 119
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 20% on the market, supply 15% 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.

Creature Collector
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
Creature Collector, Deckbuilding; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Battler, RPG
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 9,264 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $3.8k, 1 in 4 over $30k, 1 in 20 over $230k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 7 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 119 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Perma DeathFair30 devs · median $5.3k · 33 announced
  2. + Bullet HellFair24 devs · median $3.4k · 33 announced
  3. + CapitalismFair38 devs · median $3.2k · 38 announced
  4. + LootFair51 devs · median $2.9k · 67 announced
  5. + IdlerFair248 devs · median $2.1k · 260 announced
  6. + IncrementalFair177 devs · median $1.9k · 191 announced
  7. + Action RoguelikeFair39 devs · median $1.8k · 54 announced
  8. + SpaceFair30 devs · median $1.5k · 39 announced
  9. + ZombiesFair14 devs · median $1.5k · 10 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair73 devs · median $629 · 85 announced
  11. + Co-opPoor odds31 devs · median $28k · 82 announced
  12. + Dating SimPoor odds14 devs · median $23k · 43 announced

All 133 pairs on the Creature Collector page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Moonstone Island 2023 · $2.4M DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince 2024 · $1.4M Ooblets 2023 · $1.2M Decktamer 2025 · $992k Kabuto Park 2025 · $648k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Moonstone Island older $19.99 4,063 84% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,436,581) Studio Supersoft
DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince older $39.99 1,158 71% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,389,253) Square Enix
Ooblets older $29.99 1,388 91% 42k $1.2M (exactly $1,248,784) Glumberland
Decktamer $15.99 2,069 86% 62k $992k (exactly $992,499) Horizon Edge
Kabuto Park $4.99 4,329 99% 130k $648k (exactly $648,051) Doot
Cat God Ranch older $9.99 1,831 92% 55k $549k (exactly $548,751) CrazyPotato Studio
Dicefolk older $14.99 867 89% 26k $390k (exactly $389,890) LEAP Game Studios, Tiny Ghoul
Super Bullet Break older $19.99 434 81% 13k $260k (exactly $260,270) BeXide Inc.
9th Dawn Remake $15.99 514 86% 15k $247k (exactly $246,566) Valorware
Mamon King $12.99 603 90% 18k $235k (exactly $234,989) LiTMUS Co., Ltd.
Batomon Showdown $14.99 327 87% 9.8k $147k (exactly $147,052) berrymint
DreamEcho $11.99 369 79% 11k $133k (exactly $132,729) HotWaterStudio
NEODUEL: Backpack Monsters $11.99 357 79% 11k $128k (exactly $128,413) dicehit, Rogue Duck Interactive
Anode Heart: Layer Null $15.99 227 91% 6.8k $109k (exactly $108,892) Stove Powered Games
Flowers and Deities $12.99 265 90% 8.0k $103k (exactly $103,270) Chill Winter Studio
Dragon Eclipse $12.99 204 60% 6.1k $79k (exactly $79,499) Fardust

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