Games › CRPG › CRPG + Deckbuilding
Should I ship a Deckbuilding CRPG?
CRPG + Deckbuilding
Only 12 developers shipped a Deckbuilding CRPG in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 27 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $19k, ×12 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $780k, ×526 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 27 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $390 (exactly $390) |
|---|---|
| Median | $19k (exactly $18,708) |
| Top 25% | $42k (exactly $42,085) |
| Top 5% | $788k (exactly $788,203) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 32 |
| Announced | 27 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 400% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- CRPG
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Deckbuilding
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- CRPG, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $11.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 1,585 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $390. 27 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
CRPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + IncrementalLong shot
- + FMVPoor odds
- + Card BattlerPoor odds
- + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds
- + SpacePoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
Comparable games
Tainted Grail: Conquest 2021 · $4.6M 
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection 2026 · $788k 
Sovereign Syndicate 2024 · $344k 
Shadowhand: RPG Card Game 2017 · $340k 
Ancient Enemy 2020 · $197k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Tainted Grail: Conquest | older | $19.99 | 7,589 90% | 228k | $4.6M (exactly $4,551,123) | Questline |
| | Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection | $39.99 | 657 96% | 20k | $788k (exactly $788,203) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
| | Sovereign Syndicate | older | $19.99 | 573 79% | 17k | $344k (exactly $343,628) | Crimson Herring Studios |
| | Shadowhand: RPG Card Game | older | $16.99 | 668 82% | 20k | $340k (exactly $340,480) | Grey Alien Games |
| | Ancient Enemy | older | $16.99 | 386 89% | 12k | $197k (exactly $196,744) | Grey Alien Games |
 | Shards of Order | $9.99 | 578 90% | 17k | $173k (exactly $173,227) | Fardust | |
 | Voice of Belldona | · EA | $11.99 | 117 72% | 3.5k | $42k (exactly $42,085) | StoryCropStudio |
 | SOULVARS | older | $16.99 | 70 78% | 2.1k | $36k (exactly $35,679) | ginolabo, SUCCESS Corp. |
 | Claymores of the Lost Kingdom | $9.99 | 83 67% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $24,875) | Ultaan Games | |
 | RLLL: Tower of Choices | $9.99 | 77 72% | 2.3k | $23k (exactly $23,077) | Team5D | |
 | Willow Guard | $15.99 | 39 89% | 1.2k | $19k (exactly $18,708) | MiTale | |
 | Three Kingdoms Part One: Battle of Zhuo County | $14.99 | 30 60% | 900 | $13k (exactly $13,491) | JiMoYou | |
 | Eternal Dreams: Poker RPG | $11.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $719 (exactly $719) | Playmage | |
 | Hexa Vanguard | $12.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $390 (exactly $390) | Hexa Devs | |
 | Soul's Gambit | $4.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | Team Husk |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.