Do I ship it?

Games › PvE › PvE + Deckbuilding

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Deckbuilding?

PvE + Deckbuilding

Of 264 developers who shipped a PvE 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.. 552 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $780, ×1.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×224 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 552 games are announced against 151 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 552 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvE + Deckbuilding
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 264
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $16k → $3.4k → $7.2k → $2.7k → $3.3k → $1.6k → $300 (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvE + Deckbuilding: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 264
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $779 (exactly $779)
Top 25% $7.5k (exactly $7,492)
Top 5% $141k (exactly $140,704)
Developers, 2 yr 264
Released games 468
Announced 552
Effort 6 / 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 70% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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.

PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
PvE, Deckbuilding; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Card Game
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 27,808 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $780, 1 in 4 over $7.4k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 137 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 552 games are announced against 151 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  2. + IdlerFair161 devs · median $1.0k · 229 announced
  3. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  4. + TypingFair23 devs · median $719 · 27 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds44 devs · median $163k · 97 announced
  6. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds50 devs · median $85k · 120 announced
  7. + HeistPoor odds18 devs · median $30k · 50 announced
  8. + MMORPGPoor odds34 devs · median $25k · 248 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds10 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  10. + NavalPoor odds21 devs · median $11k · 59 announced
  11. + SpaceshipsPoor odds16 devs · median $6.3k · 20 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds10 devs · median $6.3k · 13 announced

All 243 pairs on the PvE page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M Dune: Imperium 2024 · $2.6M Cardfight!! Vanguard Dear Days 2022 · $2.5M Cobalt Core 2023 · $2.4M Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 1 2023 · $1.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
Dune: Imperium older $22.99 3,806 94% 114k $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) Dire Wolf
Cardfight!! Vanguard Dear Days older $69.99 1,186 76% 36k $2.5M (exactly $2,490,244) FURYU Corporation, LANCARSE Ltd.
Cobalt Core older $19.99 4,067 95% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,438,980) Rocket Rat Games
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 1 older $39.99 1,290 87% 39k $1.5M (exactly $1,547,613) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Cardfight!! Vanguard Dear Days 2 $69.99 631 67% 19k $1.3M (exactly $1,324,911) FURYU Corporation, LANCARSE Ltd.
Menace from the Deep $16.99 2,466 84% 74k $1.3M (exactly $1,256,920) Flat Lab
Cross Blitz $22.99 1,557 74% 47k $1.1M (exactly $1,073,863) Tako Boy Studios LLC
Ravenbound older $29.99 770 53% 23k $693k (exactly $692,769) Systemic Reaction™
Spellmasons older $19.99 1,122 91% 34k $673k (exactly $672,863) Octavia Blue
Kabuto Park $4.99 4,329 99% 130k $648k (exactly $648,051) Doot
Card-en-Ciel $24.99 856 90% 26k $642k (exactly $641,743) INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
Clank! $22.99 542 92% 16k $374k (exactly $373,817) Dire Wolf
One Turn Kill $7.99 1,478 95% 44k $354k (exactly $354,277) DenDen
Shadowveil: Legend of The Five Rings $24.99 469 74% 14k $352k (exactly $351,609) Palindrome Interactive
Zoominoes $14.99 549 91% 16k $247k (exactly $246,885) Starlight Games inc.

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