Do I ship it?

Games › Roguelike Deckbuilder › Roguelike Deckbuilder + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Roguelike Deckbuilder?

Roguelike Deckbuilder + Puzzle

Of 40 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 54 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×7.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.2k. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 54 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 90% on the market, 54 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelike Deckbuilder + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $3.4k → $1.2k → $7.3k → $24k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelike Deckbuilder + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 25% $25k (exactly $25,183)
Top 5% $275k (exactly $274,707)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 63
Announced 54
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $8.99

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 90% on the market, supply 245% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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.

Roguelike Deckbuilder
effort 3 / 10 · high · deckbuilding rules plus procedural runs
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Roguelike Deckbuilder, Puzzle; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Deckbuilding, Roguelike, Strategy
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 7,087 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $25k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. All of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Roguelike Deckbuilder with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + PhysicsStrong odds31 devs · median $8.1k · 30 announced
  2. + Inventory ManagementFair43 devs · median $12k · 47 announced
  3. + DiceFair36 devs · median $9.6k · 53 announced
  4. + Tactical RPGFair24 devs · median $9.0k · 29 announced
  5. + Perma DeathFair65 devs · median $8.1k · 66 announced
  6. + ExplorationFair22 devs · median $8.1k · 26 announced
  7. + Female ProtagonistFair35 devs · median $7.8k · 50 announced
  8. + MythologyFair22 devs · median $6.9k · 25 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair59 devs · median $4.3k · 88 announced
  10. + CyberpunkLong shot17 devs · median $179 · 20 announced
  11. + PvPPoor odds17 devs · median $56k · 42 announced
  12. + Multiple EndingsPoor odds14 devs · median $40k · 25 announced

All 60 pairs on the Roguelike Deckbuilder page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sol Cesto 2026 · $2.0M GWENT: Rogue Mage (Single-Player Expansion) 2022 · $379k Meteorfall: Krumit's Tale 2020 · $340k Pluto 2026 · $275k Dogpile 2025 · $212k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sol Cesto $13.99 4,838 91% 145k $2.0M (exactly $2,030,509) Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospir… (Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini, Chariospirale)
GWENT: Rogue Mage (Single-Player Expansion) older $9.99 1,266 54% 38k $379k (exactly $379,420) CD PROJEKT RED
Meteorfall: Krumit's Tale older $14.99 756 90% 23k $340k (exactly $339,973) Slothwerks
Pluto $17.99 509 93% 15k $275k (exactly $274,707) Siege Wizard Interactive
Dogpile $9.99 708 95% 21k $212k (exactly $212,188) Studio Folly, Toot Games, Foot
Turnbound $14.99 446 78% 13k $201k (exactly $200,566) 1TK
Roots of Yggdrasil older $19.99 300 85% 9.0k $180k (exactly $179,910) ManaVoid Entertainment
Crop Rotation older $9.99 508 94% 15k $152k (exactly $152,248) Sprouting Potato
Pawnbarian older $9.99 450 91% 14k $135k (exactly $134,865) j4nw
Roll older $4.99 407 91% 12k $61k (exactly $60,928) Joseph Distler
ANTHEM#9 $14.99 125 87% 3.8k $56k (exactly $56,212) koeda
Infinite Cards $15.99 96 93% 2.9k $46k (exactly $46,051) Tubby Turtle Studios
Beyond Words $14.99 102 84% 3.1k $46k (exactly $45,869) MindFuel Games
Neon Village $9.99 146 86% 4.4k $44k (exactly $43,756) Encraft
Islantiles $14.99 61 90% 1.8k $27k (exactly $27,432) Thunderrock Innovations
WizardChess $14.99 56 83% 1.7k $25k (exactly $25,183) TwoPM Studios

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