Do I ship it?

Games › Deckbuilding › Deckbuilding + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Deckbuilding?

Deckbuilding + Inventory Management

Of 98 developers who shipped an Inventory Management 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.. 137 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×5.4 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $480. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 137 games are announced against 69 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 70% on the market, 137 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Deckbuilding + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 98
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.6k → $152k → $150 → $2.5k → $450 → $7.2k → $3.8k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Deckbuilding + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 98
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,545)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $21,180)
Top 5% $367k (exactly $367,405)
Developers, 2 yr 98
Released games 135
Announced 137
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $7.99

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 up 70% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Deckbuilding, Inventory Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelite, Roguelike
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 8,270 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 137 games are announced against 69 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + AutomationFair44 devs · median $2.8k · 51 announced
  2. + ArcadeFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  3. + 2D FighterFair17 devs · median $959 · 12 announced
  4. + Party GameFair22 devs · median $719 · 30 announced
  5. + SwordplayFair11 devs · median $599 · 13 announced
  6. + Point & ClickFair34 devs · median $598 · 36 announced
  7. + Traditional RoguelikeFair53 devs · median $537 · 79 announced
  8. + LogicFair84 devs · median $419 · 118 announced
  9. + LovecraftianPoor odds19 devs · median $72k · 56 announced
  10. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $30k · 31 announced
  11. + Visual NovelPoor odds36 devs · median $26k · 64 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 40 announced

All 141 pairs on the Deckbuilding page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Backpack Hero 2023 · $4.5M Megaloot 2024 · $1.1M ShapeHero Factory 2025 · $713k Knightica 2025 · $511k Rana Card 2025 · $461k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Backpack Hero older $19.99 7,423 85% 223k $4.5M (exactly $4,451,573) Jaspel
Megaloot older $9.99 3,808 71% 114k $1.1M (exactly $1,141,258) axilirate
ShapeHero Factory $23.99 991 88% 30k $713k (exactly $713,223) Asobism.Co.,Ltd
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games
Rana Card $12.99 1,183 89% 35k $461k (exactly $461,015) VisionRana
Overlooting $9.99 1,405 81% 42k $421k (exactly $421,078) Posing Possums
Down with the Ship · EA $14.99 817 93% 25k $367k (exactly $367,405) Iron Anchor Games
Vivid World $19.99 591 88% 18k $354k (exactly $354,423) Asobism.Co.,Ltd
Backpack Jianghu $13.99 565 80% 17k $237k (exactly $237,130) 背包工作室
Turnbound $14.99 446 78% 13k $201k (exactly $200,566) 1TK
Apokerlypse $9.99 612 81% 18k $183k (exactly $183,416) Breaker Games
Disillusion ST $10.99 524 96% 16k $173k (exactly $172,763) Disillusion Dev, Disillusion Dev

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