Games › PvP › PvP + Deckbuilding
Should I ship a PvP Deckbuilding?
PvP + Deckbuilding
Of 146 developers who shipped a paid PvP 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.. 5 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 402 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×1.1 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $640k, ×428 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 402 games are announced against 103 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,647) |
| Top 25% | $23k (exactly $23,384) |
| Top 5% | $642k (exactly $641,743) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 146 |
| Released games | 412 |
| Announced | 402 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 10% on the market, supply 140% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 48%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- PvP
- effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
- Deckbuilding
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP, Deckbuilding; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Battler, Card Game
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $22.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $22.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 67,788 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 80 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 402 games are announced against 103 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
Broken Arrow 2025 · $39M 
INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road 2025 · $23M 
Monster Train 2020 · $15M 
The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M 
Monster Train 2 2025 · $6.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Broken Arrow | $49.99 | 25,924 55% | 778k | $39M (exactly $38,878,223) | Steel Balalaika | |
| | INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road | $69.99 | 11,180 88% | 335k | $23M (exactly $23,474,646) | LEVEL5 Inc. | |
| | Monster Train | older | $24.99 | 19,950 95% | 599k | $15M (exactly $14,956,515) | Shiny Shoe |
| | The Bazaar | $19.99 | 14,931 70% | 448k | $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) | Tempo | |
| | Monster Train 2 | $24.99 | 8,647 95% | 259k | $6.5M (exactly $6,482,656) | Shiny Shoe | |
 | ROUNDS | older | $5.99 | 35,738 95% | 1.1M | $6.4M (exactly $6,422,119) | Landfall |
 | Gordian Quest | older | $19.99 | 5,259 88% | 158k | $3.2M (exactly $3,153,822) | Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holding… (Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holdings Pte Ltd) |
 | SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION | older | $59.99 | 1,404 82% | 42k | $2.5M (exactly $2,526,779) | Dimps Corporation, SAFARI GAMES Co., Lt… (Dimps Corporation, SAFARI GAMES Co., Ltd.) |
 | Cardfight!! Vanguard Dear Days | older | $69.99 | 1,186 76% | 36k | $2.5M (exactly $2,490,244) | FURYU Corporation, LANCARSE Ltd. |
 | 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. | |
 | Oaken Tower | · EA | $9.99 | 3,024 89% | 91k | $906k (exactly $906,293) | Bocary Studios |
 | Yu-Gi-Oh! EARLY DAYS COLLECTION | $49.99 | 444 76% | 13k | $666k (exactly $665,867) | Digital Eclipse | |
 | Card-en-Ciel | $24.99 | 856 90% | 26k | $642k (exactly $641,743) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. | |
 | Card Shop Simulator Multiplayer | $11.99 | 1,609 82% | 48k | $579k (exactly $578,757) | ShaneGame | |
 | Clank! | $22.99 | 542 92% | 16k | $374k (exactly $373,817) | Dire Wolf |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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