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Should I ship a Mystery Dungeon Deckbuilding?
Deckbuilding + Mystery Dungeon
Of 21 developers who shipped a Mystery Dungeon 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.. 26 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.4k, ×20 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×457 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 26 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.7k (exactly $2,726) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.4k (exactly $9,444) |
| Top 25% | $27k (exactly $27,432) |
| Top 5% | $217k (exactly $217,249) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 42 |
| Announced | 26 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, 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
- Mystery Dungeon
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Deckbuilding, Mystery Dungeon; all of the top 25% also carry Dungeon Crawler, Roguelike, Strategy
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 2,816 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.8k. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
Dungeon Drafters 2023 · $422k 
Vivid World 2025 · $354k 
Villages & Dungeons 2025 · $217k 
Legacy of Defense 2026 · $131k 
Slot & Dungeons 2026 · $82k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dungeon Drafters | older | $24.99 | 563 76% | 17k | $422k (exactly $422,081) | Manalith Studios |
| | Vivid World | $19.99 | 591 88% | 18k | $354k (exactly $354,423) | Asobism.Co.,Ltd | |
| | Villages & Dungeons | $6.99 | 1,036 91% | 31k | $217k (exactly $217,249) | CaCaFrog Studio | |
| | Legacy of Defense | $7.99 | 545 72% | 16k | $131k (exactly $130,636) | Enter the Game Studios | |
| | Slot & Dungeons | $8.99 | 304 83% | 9.1k | $82k (exactly $81,989) | MUC GAMES | |
 | Into the Restless Ruins | $14.99 | 109 83% | 3.3k | $49k (exactly $49,017) | Ant Workshop Ltd | |
 | Obsidian Prince | older | $14.99 | 103 77% | 3.1k | $46k (exactly $46,319) | Unleash The Giraffe |
 | Digs TD | older | $19.99 | 76 67% | 2.3k | $46k (exactly $45,577) | Digs Team |
 | Lazriel: The Demon's Fall | older | $14.99 | 88 90% | 2.6k | $40k (exactly $39,574) | Otakesan |
 | Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch | $14.99 | 61 70% | 1.8k | $27k (exactly $27,432) | Dvora Studio Co. Ltd. | |
 | Demonherd Dungeon | $19.99 | 36 72% | 1.1k | $22k (exactly $21,589) | Demonherd Team | |
 | The Dream Labyrinth | $14.99 | 44 81% | 1.3k | $20k (exactly $19,787) | GGG`s | |
 | Heroes Against Time | $7.49 | 53 94% | 1.6k | $12k (exactly $11,909) | David Vinokurov | |
 | Dungeon Deck | $9.99 | 37 97% | 1.1k | $11k (exactly $11,089) | Incinious |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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