Do I ship it?

GamesDeckbuildingDeckbuilding + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Deckbuilding Platformer?

Deckbuilding + Platformer

Only 15 developers shipped a Deckbuilding Platformer 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, OVIS LOOP, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 15 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480, level with the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $550k, ×1162 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 15 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 15 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Deckbuilding + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $898 → $12k → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Deckbuilding + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $6.1k (exactly $6,115)
Top 5% $552k (exactly $552,005)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 28
Announced 15
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 60% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Platformer
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, Platformer
Price point
$6.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 1,176 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $480, 1 in 4 over $6.1k, 1 in 20 over $550k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 15 games are announced against 10 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. + Inventory ManagementFair98 devs · median $2.5k · 137 announced
  3. + ArcadeFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  4. + 2D FighterFair17 devs · median $959 · 12 announced
  5. + Party GameFair22 devs · median $719 · 30 announced
  6. + SwordplayFair11 devs · median $599 · 13 announced
  7. + Point & ClickFair34 devs · median $598 · 36 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair53 devs · median $537 · 79 announced
  9. + LogicFair84 devs · median $419 · 118 announced
  10. + LovecraftianPoor odds19 devs · median $72k · 56 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $30k · 31 announced
  12. + Visual NovelPoor odds36 devs · median $26k · 64 announced

All 141 pairs on the Deckbuilding page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ROUNDS older $5.99 35,738 95% 1.1M $6.4M (exactly $6,422,119) Landfall
OVIS LOOP · EA $16.99 1,083 88% 32k $552k (exactly $552,005) LIFUEL
Golfie older $17.99 275 66% 8.3k $148k (exactly $148,418) Triheart Studio
JARS older $11.99 104 71% 3.1k $37k (exactly $37,409) Mousetrap Games
Adrenaline Rampage $14.99 26 88% 780 $12k (exactly $11,692) Midhard Games
Nif Nif $19.99 13 92% 390 $7.8k (exactly $7,796) Springfox Games
Soul Demon Hunters $11.99 17 88% 510 $6.1k (exactly $6,115) Cheese Burger Studio
Tacape older $6.99 22 90% 660 $4.6k (exactly $4,613) Really Long Birds, Aiyra
SEBI 16 $7.99 13 100% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) Sebastian Lind
Ricochet Raven · EA $7.99 12 91% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) Kaosrio
The Upper Hand $4.99 6 100% 180 $898 (exactly $898) Brain Syringe Studios LLC
Tank Fight $7.99 2 100% 60 $479 (exactly $479) Pixel_Gamer, TNT_MAN1111
Tower of Nod $4.99 3 100% 90 $449 (exactly $449) Indiana Kuffer
Wraith of the Cards $6.99 1 100% 30 $210 (exactly $210) Team Wowasaur

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