Games › Simulation › Simulation + Deckbuilding
Should I ship a Deckbuilding Simulation game?
Simulation + Deckbuilding
Of 242 developers who shipped a Deckbuilding Simulation 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.. 327 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×4.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $570k, ×922 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 327 games are announced against 153 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $416 (exactly $416) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,726) |
| Top 25% | $34k (exactly $33,566) |
| Top 5% | $579k (exactly $578,757) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 242 |
| Released games | 391 |
| Announced | 327 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 50% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Deckbuilding
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Simulation, Deckbuilding; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Roguelite
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 25,667 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 7 in 10 of the 104 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 327 games are announced against 153 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Simulation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomStrong odds
- + World War IFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + PinballFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + BirdsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + MusicFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
Comparable games
Stacklands 2022 · $7.0M 
Potionomics 2022 · $5.2M 
Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist : Link Evolution 2020 · $4.7M 
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist 2022 · $3.3M 
BOOK OF HOURS 2023 · $3.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Stacklands | older | $7.99 | 29,244 96% | 877k | $7.0M (exactly $7,009,787) | Sokpop Collective |
| | Potionomics | older | $24.99 | 6,973 90% | 209k | $5.2M (exactly $5,227,658) | Voracious Games |
| | 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 |
| | I Was a Teenage Exocolonist | older | $24.99 | 4,443 96% | 133k | $3.3M (exactly $3,330,917) | Northway Games |
| | 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 |
 | Ratropolis | older | $17.99 | 5,187 87% | 156k | $2.8M (exactly $2,799,424) | Cassel Games |
 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist | older | $19.99 | 4,452 83% | 134k | $2.7M (exactly $2,669,864) | Other Ocean Interactive |
 | Dune: Imperium | older | $22.99 | 3,806 94% | 114k | $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) | Dire Wolf |
 | Esports Godfather | older | $19.99 | 4,319 90% | 130k | $2.6M (exactly $2,590,104) | Asteroid Game Studio |
 | Slots & Daggers | $7.99 | 7,421 93% | 223k | $1.8M (exactly $1,778,814) | Friedemann | |
 | Dungeon Clawler | $14.99 | 3,716 88% | 111k | $1.7M (exactly $1,671,085) | Stray Fawn Studio | |
 | Menace from the Deep | $16.99 | 2,466 84% | 74k | $1.3M (exactly $1,256,920) | Flat Lab | |
 | Office Life | $19.99 | 1,725 88% | 52k | $1.0M (exactly $1,034,482) | LeiYun Games | |
 | Commander Quest | $11.99 | 2,804 74% | 84k | $1.0M (exactly $1,008,599) | Flyway Games, Inc. | |
 | Ballionaire | $12.34 | 2,398 85% | 72k | $888k (exactly $887,740) | newobject | |
 | As We Descend | · EA | $19.99 | 1,336 86% | 40k | $801k (exactly $801,199) | Box Dragon |
 | Deck of Haunts | $19.99 | 1,206 84% | 36k | $723k (exactly $723,238) | Mantis | |
 | Gambonanza | $14.99 | 1,604 74% | 48k | $721k (exactly $721,319) | Blukulélé | |
 | ShapeHero Factory | $23.99 | 991 88% | 30k | $713k (exactly $713,223) | Asobism.Co.,Ltd |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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