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Should I ship a Magic Roguelike Deckbuilder?
Roguelike Deckbuilder + Magic
Of 45 developers who shipped a Magic 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.. 93 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.4k, ×20 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $930k, ×1977 the market median. Revenue is up 125% on the market; 93 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.4k (exactly $9,444) |
| Top 25% | $55k (exactly $55,034) |
| Top 5% | $939k (exactly $939,130) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 45 |
| Released games | 84 |
| Announced | 93 |
| 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 125% on the market, supply 25% 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.
- Roguelike Deckbuilder
- effort 3 / 10 · high · deckbuilding rules plus procedural runs
- Magic
- 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, Deckbuilding, Roguelike
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 8 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 $9.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 16,045 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 6 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 93 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 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
Monster Train 2020 · $15M 
Monster Train 2 2025 · $6.5M 
Roguebook 2021 · $2.6M 
Yao-Guai Hunter 2025 · $1.1M 
SpellRogue 2025 · $939k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Monster Train | older | $24.99 | 19,950 95% | 599k | $15M (exactly $14,956,515) | Shiny Shoe |
| | Monster Train 2 | $24.99 | 8,647 95% | 259k | $6.5M (exactly $6,482,656) | Shiny Shoe | |
| | Roguebook | older | $24.99 | 3,446 84% | 103k | $2.6M (exactly $2,583,466) | Abrakam Entertainment SA |
| | Yao-Guai Hunter | $16.99 | 2,082 83% | 62k | $1.1M (exactly $1,061,195) | MyACG Studio | |
| | SpellRogue | $19.99 | 1,566 86% | 47k | $939k (exactly $939,130) | Guidelight Games | |
 | Warriors of the Nile 2 | older | $14.99 | 1,180 88% | 35k | $531k (exactly $530,646) | Stove Studio |
 | Cubic Cosmos | $12.99 | 941 92% | 28k | $367k (exactly $366,708) | Inkstone Atelier | |
 | Witch's Apocalyptic Journey | $8.99 | 1,282 84% | 38k | $346k (exactly $345,755) | MeowAlive | |
 | FAIRY TAIL: DUNGEONS | older | $13.99 | 774 92% | 23k | $325k (exactly $324,848) | ginolabo |
 | Pluto | $17.99 | 509 93% | 15k | $275k (exactly $274,707) | Siege Wizard Interactive | |
 | Runeborn | $13.99 | 284 80% | 8.5k | $119k (exactly $119,195) | iDream Interactive | |
 | Slot & Dungeons | $8.99 | 304 83% | 9.1k | $82k (exactly $81,989) | MUC GAMES | |
 | Witch and Council : The Card | $14.99 | 182 48% | 5.5k | $82k (exactly $81,845) | G1 Playground | |
 | Lost For Swords | $9.99 | 248 89% | 7.4k | $74k (exactly $74,326) | MaxBytes |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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