Do I ship it?

Games › Deckbuilding › Deckbuilding + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Deckbuilding Score Attack game?

Deckbuilding + Score Attack

Of 92 developers who shipped a Deckbuilding Score Attack 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.. 136 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $200; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×462 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 136 games are announced against 77 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 136 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Deckbuilding + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 92
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $36k → $299 → $3.3k → $179 → $2.7k → $3.9k → $629 (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Deckbuilding + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 92
Bottom 30% $200 (exactly $200)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,697)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $11,534)
Top 5% $219k (exactly $219,401)
Developers, 2 yr 92
Released games 133
Announced 136
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $7.99

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 55% on the market, supply 415% 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
Score Attack
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, Score Attack; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Strategy, Roguelite
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 6,355 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $200, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $200. 7 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 136 games are announced against 77 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

Omelet You Cook 2026 · $685k Cursed Words: The Word Game That Isn't 2026 · $314k Bingle Bingle 2026 · $300k Word Play 2025 · $242k Kinny and the Cosmic Cauldron 2026 · $219k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Omelet You Cook $14.99 1,523 97% 46k $685k (exactly $684,893) Dan Schumacher, Hjalte Tagmose
Cursed Words: The Word Game That Isn't $14.99 698 95% 21k $314k (exactly $313,891) Buried Things
Bingle Bingle $14.99 666 80% 20k $300k (exactly $299,500) Knitting Games
Word Play $7.99 1,010 89% 30k $242k (exactly $242,097) Game Maker's Toolkit
Kinny and the Cosmic Cauldron $12.99 563 85% 17k $219k (exactly $219,401) Kinnymoms
Dice Player One older $14.99 456 90% 14k $205k (exactly $205,063) KDream
SpunkStock: Music Festival older $14.99 406 95% 12k $183k (exactly $182,578) RegulusNSFW
Feed the Scorchpot $14.99 371 87% 11k $167k (exactly $166,839) Moravian
Poly TD $7.99 587 82% 18k $141k (exactly $140,704) Naroot
Goblin Sushi · EA $9.99 404 89% 12k $121k (exactly $121,079) Old Cake Factory
The Loopler $9.99 349 90% 10k $105k (exactly $104,595) Mheep
Cult of PiN $14.99 184 77% 5.5k $83k (exactly $82,745) KennyMakesGames

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