Games › Swordplay › Swordplay + Deckbuilding
Should I ship a Deckbuilding Swordplay game?
Swordplay + Deckbuilding
Only 11 developers shipped a Deckbuilding Swordplay game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Backpack Jianghu, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 13 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $450. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 13 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $55k (exactly $55,145) |
| Top 5% | $237k (exactly $237,130) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 11 |
| Released games | 27 |
| Announced | 13 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 20% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Swordplay
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Deckbuilding
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Swordplay, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $5.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 9 games average 75% positive over 870 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 13 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Swordplay with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Shoot 'Em UpLong shot
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + FightingPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Ravenbound | older | $29.99 | 770 53% | 23k | $693k (exactly $692,769) | Systemic Reaction™ |
| | Backpack Jianghu | $13.99 | 565 80% | 17k | $237k (exactly $237,130) | 背包工作室 | |
| | Queen's Blade Re:Build | $27.77 | 93 70% | 2.8k | $77k (exactly $77,478) | SE Mobile and Online Co.,Ltd., C&R… (SE Mobile and Online Co.,Ltd., C&R Creative Studios) | |
| | Ultimate Hero | $9.99 | 184 65% | 5.5k | $55k (exactly $55,145) | Fishwharf | |
| | Heroes of Eternal Quest | older | $11.99 | 107 71% | 3.2k | $38k (exactly $38,488) | Drakkar Game Studio |
| | Spelldrifter | older | $19.99 | 16 62% | 480 | $9.6k (exactly $9,595) | Free Range Games, Protopixel |
| | 天机录 | · EA older | $3.99 | 24 33% | 720 | $2.9k (exactly $2,873) | Cosmic Mystery Game Studio |
| | Kungfu | older | $1.99 | 18 72% | 540 | $1.1k (exactly $1,075) | amk800 |
| | The Deepwoods | $5.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $898 (exactly $898) | Whiteleopard Studios | |
| | Card Maker Simulator | $7.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $719 (exactly $719) | Níkolas Santos | |
| | Fur and Void | $9.99 | 2 0% | 60 | $599 (exactly $599) | DFS | |
| | 一剑江湖 | $1.99 | 9 44% | 270 | $537 (exactly $537) | 春秋大梦工作室 | |
| | Invictvs | $4.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $449 (exactly $449) | buno15 | |
| | Dominance | $1.99 | 6 83% | 180 | $358 (exactly $358) | Gabriel Cancro, Leonel Rodriguez | |
| | Teamfight Royale | $3.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Festucs Interactive |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.