Do I ship it?

GamesImmersive SimImmersive Sim + Deckbuilding

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Deckbuilding Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Deckbuilding

Only 18 developers shipped a Deckbuilding Immersive Sim 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, Card Shop Simulator Multiplayer, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 28 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×0.8 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $570k, ×386 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 28 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 28 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Deckbuilding
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.6k → $3.8k → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Deckbuilding: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,197)
Top 25% $31k (exactly $30,580)
Top 5% $579k (exactly $578,757)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 25
Announced 28
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 100% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Immersive Sim
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim, Deckbuilding; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Life Sim, Management, Simulation
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, Relaxing, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 3,977 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $30k, 1 in 20 over $570k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 6 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Immersive Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds112 devs · median $63k · 58 announced
  2. + Trading Card GameStrong odds18 devs · median $30k · 13 announced
  3. + MinigamesStrong odds15 devs · median $24k · 11 announced
  4. + WesternStrong odds17 devs · median $4.4k · 14 announced
  5. + BoxingStrong odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 12 announced
  6. + Job SimulatorFair152 devs · median $20k · 180 announced
  7. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $17k · 10 announced
  8. + Dating SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  9. + RomanceFair254 devs · median $12k · 266 announced
  10. + LGBTQ+Fair87 devs · median $11k · 93 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  12. + Split ScreenFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced

All 219 pairs on the Immersive Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Card Shop Simulator Multiplayer $11.99 1,609 82% 48k $579k (exactly $578,757) ShaneGame
Ways of Alchemy $17.99 674 74% 20k $364k (exactly $363,758) RocketBrush Games
ROGUE LIGHT DECK BUILDER $3.99 888 94% 27k $106k (exactly $106,294) Gil Lawson
我的人生 $6.99 496 65% 15k $104k (exactly $104,011) ZZ Games
Dragon Creek older $14.99 133 87% 4.0k $60k (exactly $59,810)
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
Fantasy Village Simulator older $6.99 52 63% 1.6k $11k (exactly $10,904) CYCLOPS
HEXAROMA: Village Builder $4.99 44 79% 1.3k $6.6k (exactly $6,587) Almost a Game Company
Kanji Industry · EA older $6.99 26 92% 780 $5.5k (exactly $5,452) Tsune Studio
Roulette Heist $6.99 18 94% 540 $3.8k (exactly $3,775) DreamArk Lab
Slash Cash $3.99 10 30% 300 $1.2k (exactly $1,197) AnythingGames
DECK COLLECTOR · EA $11.99 3 66% 90 $1.1k (exactly $1,079) AEROBORN Games

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