Games › Deckbuilding › Deckbuilding + Idler
Should I ship an Idler Deckbuilding?
Deckbuilding + Idler
Of 42 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 68 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $74k, ×156 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 68 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $4.6k (exactly $4,554) |
| Top 5% | $74k (exactly $74,216) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 42 |
| Released games | 75 |
| Announced | 68 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 40% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 29%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Deckbuilding
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
- Idler
- effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Deckbuilding, Idler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Incremental, Roguelike
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Minimalist, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 4,340 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 68 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Deckbuilding with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + AutomationFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + 2D FighterFair
- + Party GameFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + LogicFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
Comparable games
This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker 2025 · $320k 
Bones and Coins 2026 · $153k 
Lucky Hunter 2024 · $74k 
All Aboard! The Train Defense Express 2025 · $57k 
大宋英雄传(SongHeros) 2025 · EA · $48k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker | $5.99 | 1,781 86% | 53k | $320k (exactly $320,046) | Mash | |
| | Bones and Coins | $7.99 | 638 72% | 19k | $153k (exactly $152,929) | Troyd Games | |
| | Lucky Hunter | $5.99 | 413 89% | 12k | $74k (exactly $74,216) | 159 Studio | |
| | All Aboard! The Train Defense Express | $4.99 | 379 84% | 11k | $57k (exactly $56,736) | Likadev | |
| | 大宋英雄传(SongHeros) | · EA | $9.99 | 161 79% | 4.8k | $48k (exactly $48,252) | LazyManGameStudio |
 | DEFRAG | $2.99 | 534 93% | 16k | $48k (exactly $47,900) | BlueDot Studio | |
 | All About Luck | $10.99 | 134 91% | 4.0k | $44k (exactly $44,180) | Flow Universe | |
 | CyberTD | older | $19.99 | 50 66% | 1.5k | $30k (exactly $29,985) | Clockwork Origins |
 | Desktop Detective | $4.99 | 144 88% | 4.3k | $22k (exactly $21,557) | Conradical Games | |
 | The First Million | $6.99 | 101 75% | 3.0k | $21k (exactly $21,180) | Sonderland | |
 | COMBOLITE | $6.99 | 55 76% | 1.7k | $12k (exactly $11,534) | Kristoff Red |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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