Do I ship it?

Games › Creature Collector › Creature Collector + Roguelike Deckbuilder

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roguelike Deckbuilder Creature Collector?

Creature Collector + Roguelike Deckbuilder

Of 21 developers who shipped a Roguelike Deckbuilder 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.. 22 more are announced, ×2.2 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 $3.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $79k, ×127 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 22 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 22 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Creature Collector + Roguelike Deckbuilder
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $58k → $3.6k → $2.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Creature Collector + Roguelike Deckbuilder: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $2.9k (exactly $2,938)
Median $3.8k (exactly $3,774)
Top 25% $32k (exactly $32,346)
Top 5% $79k (exactly $79,499)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 30
Announced 22
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 50% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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
Roguelike Deckbuilder
effort 3 / 10 · high · deckbuilding rules plus procedural runs

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Creature Collector, Roguelike Deckbuilder; all of the top 25% also carry Deckbuilding, Roguelike, Strategy
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute
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 85% positive over 3,297 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.0k, median $3.8k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $79k.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.0k. 6 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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

Decktamer 2025 · $992k Cat God Ranch 2024 · $549k Dicefolk 2024 · $390k Tower Escape 2023 · $87k Dragon Eclipse 2024 · $79k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Decktamer $15.99 2,069 86% 62k $992k (exactly $992,499) Horizon Edge
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
Tower Escape older $7.99 362 83% 11k $87k (exactly $86,771) Final Screw
Dragon Eclipse $12.99 204 60% 6.1k $79k (exactly $79,499) Fardust
Lucky Hunter $5.99 413 89% 12k $74k (exactly $74,216) 159 Studio
Montabi $19.99 123 95% 3.7k $74k (exactly $73,763) Mankibo
Isle of Swaps $14.99 129 90% 3.9k $58k (exactly $58,011) Fuzz Force
The Corpsmen older $19.99 77 57% 2.3k $46k (exactly $46,177) Multicell Games
Gold and Graves $5.99 180 86% 5.4k $32k (exactly $32,346) Yoon
Maze Keeper $8.99 84 47% 2.5k $23k (exactly $22,655) Spaceward Games
Blue Hunter $14.99 28 85% 840 $13k (exactly $12,592) NourSaiFR
Dicey Bugs $9.99 40 100% 1.2k $12k (exactly $11,988) ProdigalSon Games
Necromancer For A Week $7.99 27 96% 810 $6.5k (exactly $6,472) QuietPenguinGaming

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