Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Deckbuilding

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Deckbuilding Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Deckbuilding

Of 145 developers who shipped a Deckbuilding Resource Management game 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.. 330 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×6.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×604 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 330 games are announced against 95 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 330 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Deckbuilding
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 145
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $29k → $29k → $3.6k → $13k → $17k → $3.9k → $2.6k (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Deckbuilding: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 145
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $3.1k (exactly $3,146)
Top 25% $34k (exactly $34,166)
Top 5% $287k (exactly $287,113)
Developers, 2 yr 145
Released games 224
Announced 330
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.49

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 80% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Resource Management, Deckbuilding; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Card Game
Price point
$7.49 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.49.

The top 10 games average 69% positive over 45,693 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $3.1k, 1 in 4 over $34k, 1 in 20 over $280k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 6 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 330 games are announced against 95 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Broken Arrow 2025 · $39M Loop Hero 2021 · $15M Potionomics 2022 · $5.2M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M BOOK OF HOURS 2023 · $3.1M
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
Loop Hero older $14.99 33,816 92% 1.0M $15M (exactly $15,207,055) Four Quarters
Potionomics older $24.99 6,973 90% 209k $5.2M (exactly $5,227,658) Voracious Games
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
BOOK OF HOURS older $24.99 4,129 89% 124k $3.1M (exactly $3,095,511) Weather Factory
Luck be a Landlord older $9.99 10,213 93% 306k $3.1M (exactly $3,060,836) TrampolineTales
Emberward $19.99 3,775 96% 113k $2.3M (exactly $2,263,868) Refic Games
Cardboard Town older $19.99 2,051 79% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,985) Stratera Games, cukuto
TerraScape older $14.99 2,068 88% 62k $930k (exactly $929,980) Bitfall Studios
Border Pioneer $14.99 1,675 86% 50k $753k (exactly $753,248) Yahzj Games
ShapeHero Factory $23.99 991 88% 30k $713k (exactly $713,223) Asobism.Co.,Ltd
Ways of Alchemy $17.99 674 74% 20k $364k (exactly $363,758) RocketBrush Games
This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker $5.99 1,781 86% 53k $320k (exactly $320,046) Mash
Aotenjo: Infinite Hands · EA $9.99 958 87% 29k $287k (exactly $287,113) XO Cat
Roots Devour $14.99 479 68% 14k $215k (exactly $215,406) Rewinding Games
Cropdeck $12.99 430 92% 13k $168k (exactly $167,571) Piotrek

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