Games › Economy › Economy + Deckbuilding
Should I ship a Deckbuilding Economy game?
Economy + Deckbuilding
Of 52 developers who shipped a Deckbuilding Economy game 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.. 92 more are announced, ×2.5 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 $360; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×451 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 92 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $17k (exactly $16,986) |
| Top 5% | $283k (exactly $283,387) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 52 |
| Released games | 67 |
| Announced | 92 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 35% on the market, supply 145% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Economy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Deckbuilding
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy, Deckbuilding; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Strategy
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 18,979 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 92 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M 
Dune: Imperium 2024 · $2.6M 
Card Shop Simulator Multiplayer 2025 · $579k 
NUTMEG! A Nostalgic Deckbuilding Football Manager 2026 · $283k 
ROGUE LIGHT DECK BUILDER 2025 · $106k | 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 | |
| | Dune: Imperium | older | $22.99 | 3,806 94% | 114k | $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) | Dire Wolf |
| | Card Shop Simulator Multiplayer | $11.99 | 1,609 82% | 48k | $579k (exactly $578,757) | ShaneGame | |
| | NUTMEG! A Nostalgic Deckbuilding Football Manager | $24.99 | 378 89% | 11k | $283k (exactly $283,387) | Sumo Digital, Sumo Digital Academy | |
| | ROGUE LIGHT DECK BUILDER | $3.99 | 888 94% | 27k | $106k (exactly $106,294) | Gil Lawson | |
 | Entertainment Simulator | $18.99 | 181 73% | 5.4k | $103k (exactly $103,116) | Grizzbera Studio | |
 | Concordia: Digital Edition | older | $19.99 | 167 83% | 5.0k | $100k (exactly $100,150) | Acram Digital |
 | Urban Cards | older | $14.99 | 156 75% | 4.7k | $70k (exactly $70,153) | Hues Games |
 | Calculate It | · EA older | $6.99 | 264 87% | 7.9k | $55k (exactly $55,361) | SVGames |
 | SuperTaxCity | $9.99 | 166 89% | 5.0k | $50k (exactly $49,750) | soramame-koubou | |
 | DEFRAG | $2.99 | 534 93% | 16k | $48k (exactly $47,900) | BlueDot Studio | |
 | Yuma Nest | · EA | $19.99 | 57 89% | 1.7k | $34k (exactly $34,183) | Piokou |
 | Magic Inn | · EA | $14.99 | 68 82% | 2.0k | $31k (exactly $30,580) | Purpledoor Studios |
 | FeeBay Simulator | $5.99 | 167 91% | 5.0k | $30k (exactly $30,010) | Lake Country Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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