Games › Deckbuilding › Deckbuilding + Puzzle
Should I ship a Puzzle Deckbuilding?
Deckbuilding + Puzzle
Of 145 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 227 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×2.2 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×422 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 227 games are announced against 96 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $208 (exactly $208) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $7.5k (exactly $7,485) |
| Top 5% | $201k (exactly $200,566) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 145 |
| Released games | 257 |
| Announced | 227 |
| 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 45% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Puzzle
- effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Deckbuilding, Puzzle; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Roguelite
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 27,853 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 227 games are announced against 96 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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
Inscryption 2021 · $81M 
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales 2018 · $9.4M 
Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist : Link Evolution 2020 · $4.7M 
BOOK OF HOURS 2023 · $3.1M 
Nubby's Number Factory 2025 · $2.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Inscryption | older | $19.99 | 135,017 96% | 4.1M | $81M (exactly $80,969,695) | Daniel Mullins Games |
| | Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales | older | $19.99 | 15,665 89% | 470k | $9.4M (exactly $9,394,300) | CD PROJEKT RED |
| | Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist : Link Evolution | older | $39.99 | 3,905 82% | 117k | $4.7M (exactly $4,684,828) | Other Ocean Emeryville |
| | BOOK OF HOURS | older | $24.99 | 4,129 89% | 124k | $3.1M (exactly $3,095,511) | Weather Factory |
| | Nubby's Number Factory | $4.99 | 18,138 97% | 544k | $2.7M (exactly $2,715,259) | MogDogBlog Productions | |
 | The Legend of Bum-Bo | older | $14.99 | 5,654 80% | 170k | $2.5M (exactly $2,542,604) | Edmund McMillen, James Interactive, Rid… (Edmund McMillen, James Interactive, Ridiculon) |
 | Sol Cesto | $13.99 | 4,838 91% | 145k | $2.0M (exactly $2,030,509) | Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospir… (Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospirale) | |
 | TerraScape | older | $14.99 | 2,068 88% | 62k | $930k (exactly $929,980) | Bitfall Studios |
 | ShapeHero Factory | $23.99 | 991 88% | 30k | $713k (exactly $713,223) | Asobism.Co.,Ltd | |
 | Knights in Tight Spaces | $19.99 | 831 69% | 25k | $498k (exactly $498,351) | Ground Shatter | |
 | Pluto | $17.99 | 509 93% | 15k | $275k (exactly $274,707) | Siege Wizard Interactive | |
 | Roots Devour | $14.99 | 479 68% | 14k | $215k (exactly $215,406) | Rewinding Games | |
 | Dogpile | $9.99 | 708 95% | 21k | $212k (exactly $212,188) | Studio Folly, Toot Games, Foot | |
 | Turnbound | $14.99 | 446 78% | 13k | $201k (exactly $200,566) | 1TK | |
 | Yokai Art 2: Tales of the Nine-Tails | $9.99 | 314 75% | 9.4k | $94k (exactly $94,106) | Secret Labo | |
 | Technotopia | $4.99 | 599 86% | 18k | $90k (exactly $89,670) | Yustas |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.