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Should I ship a Fantasy Roguelike Deckbuilder?
Roguelike Deckbuilder + Fantasy
Of 196 developers who shipped a Fantasy Roguelike Deckbuilder 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.. 288 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $8.1k, ×17 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.4M, ×3066 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 288 games are announced against 117 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.8k (exactly $1,797) |
|---|---|
| Median | $8.1k (exactly $8,095) |
| Top 25% | $49k (exactly $49,017) |
| Top 5% | $1.5M (exactly $1,456,578) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 196 |
| Released games | 325 |
| Announced | 288 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 5%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Roguelike Deckbuilder
- effort 3 / 10 · high · deckbuilding rules plus procedural runs
- Fantasy
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Roguelike Deckbuilder; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 70% positive over 257,887 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 6 in 10 of the 87 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 288 games are announced against 117 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Roguelike Deckbuilder with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + PhysicsStrong odds
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + DiceFair
- + Tactical RPGFair
- + Perma DeathFair
- + ExplorationFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + MythologyFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + PuzzleFair
- + CyberpunkLong shot
- + PvPPoor odds
Comparable games
Slay the Spire 2019 · $144M 
Slay the Spire 2 2026 · EA · $138M 
Monster Train 2020 · $15M 
9 Kings 2025 · EA · $13M 
Backpack Battles 2025 · $8.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Slay the Spire | older | $24.99 | 191,765 97% | 5.8M | $144M (exactly $143,766,220) | Mega Crit |
| | Slay the Spire 2 | · EA | $24.99 | 183,764 61% | 5.5M | $138M (exactly $137,767,871) | Mega Crit |
| | Monster Train | older | $24.99 | 19,950 95% | 599k | $15M (exactly $14,956,515) | Shiny Shoe |
| | 9 Kings | · EA | $19.99 | 21,352 92% | 641k | $13M (exactly $12,804,794) | Sad Socket |
| | Backpack Battles | $14.99 | 18,933 91% | 568k | $8.5M (exactly $8,514,170) | PlayWithFurcifer | |
 | Monster Train 2 | $24.99 | 8,647 95% | 259k | $6.5M (exactly $6,482,656) | Shiny Shoe | |
 | Book of Demons | older | $24.99 | 8,010 91% | 240k | $6.0M (exactly $6,005,097) | Thing Trunk |
 | Wildfrost | older | $19.99 | 8,175 82% | 245k | $4.9M (exactly $4,902,548) | Deadpan Games, Gaziter |
 | Hand of Fate | older | $19.99 | 8,009 89% | 240k | $4.8M (exactly $4,802,997) | Defiant Development |
 | Hand of Fate 2 | older | $29.99 | 5,273 84% | 158k | $4.7M (exactly $4,744,118) | Defiant Development |
 | Super Fantasy Kingdom | · EA | $19.99 | 5,630 86% | 169k | $3.4M (exactly $3,376,311) | Super Fantasy Games |
 | He is Coming | · EA | $19.99 | 3,834 84% | 115k | $2.3M (exactly $2,299,250) | Chronocle |
 | Emberward | $19.99 | 3,775 96% | 113k | $2.3M (exactly $2,263,868) | Refic Games | |
 | Sol Cesto | $13.99 | 4,838 91% | 145k | $2.0M (exactly $2,030,509) | Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospir… (Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospirale) | |
 | Demonic Mahjong | $16.99 | 3,875 95% | 116k | $2.0M (exactly $1,975,087) | Boxed Lighting Games | |
 | Die in the Dungeon | $14.99 | 3,239 92% | 97k | $1.5M (exactly $1,456,578) | ATICO |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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