Do I ship it?

Games › PvE › PvE + Roguelike Deckbuilder

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Roguelike Deckbuilder?

PvE + Roguelike Deckbuilder

Of 61 developers who shipped a PvE 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.. 106 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.1k, ×6.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×262 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 106 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 106 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvE + Roguelike Deckbuilder
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 61
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.0k → $3.4k → $2.8k → $25k → $4.8k → $7.3k → $599 (still earning) → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvE + Roguelike Deckbuilder: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 61
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Median $4.1k (exactly $4,133)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $21,333)
Top 5% $164k (exactly $164,318)
Developers, 2 yr 61
Released games 98
Announced 106
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 down 55% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
Roguelike Deckbuilder
effort 3 / 10 · high · deckbuilding rules plus procedural runs

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
PvE, Roguelike Deckbuilder; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Roguelike
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 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 $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 5,378 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 $4.1k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 7 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 106 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  2. + IdlerFair161 devs · median $1.0k · 229 announced
  3. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  4. + TypingFair23 devs · median $719 · 27 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds44 devs · median $163k · 97 announced
  6. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds50 devs · median $85k · 120 announced
  7. + HeistPoor odds18 devs · median $30k · 50 announced
  8. + MMORPGPoor odds34 devs · median $25k · 248 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds10 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  10. + NavalPoor odds21 devs · median $11k · 59 announced
  11. + SpaceshipsPoor odds16 devs · median $6.3k · 20 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds10 devs · median $6.3k · 13 announced

All 243 pairs on the PvE page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Cobalt Core 2023 · $2.4M Menace from the Deep 2024 · $1.3M GWENT: Rogue Mage (Single-Player Expansion) 2022 · $379k Shadowveil: Legend of The Five Rings 2025 · $352k Pyrene 2024 · $304k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cobalt Core older $19.99 4,067 95% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,438,980) Rocket Rat Games
Menace from the Deep $16.99 2,466 84% 74k $1.3M (exactly $1,256,920) Flat Lab
GWENT: Rogue Mage (Single-Player Expansion) older $9.99 1,266 54% 38k $379k (exactly $379,420) CD PROJEKT RED
Shadowveil: Legend of The Five Rings $24.99 469 74% 14k $352k (exactly $351,609) Palindrome Interactive
Pyrene older $14.99 676 92% 20k $304k (exactly $303,997) Two Tiny Dice
Zoominoes $14.99 549 91% 16k $247k (exactly $246,885) Starlight Games inc.
DungeonTop older $15.99 452 80% 14k $217k (exactly $216,824) One Up Plus Entertainment
Ancient Gods older $19.99 275 62% 8.3k $165k (exactly $164,918) Hexpion
Dawncaster | The RPG Cardventure $19.99 274 81% 8.2k $164k (exactly $164,318) Wanderlost Interactive
Trizon $8.99 589 92% 18k $159k (exactly $158,853) Ling
Hunter's Moon: A Sovereign Syndicate Adventure $19.99 205 83% 6.2k $123k (exactly $122,938) Crimson Herring Studios
Clutchtime™: Basketball Deckbuilder $19.99 180 77% 5.4k $108k (exactly $107,946) Bigosaur
Become the Moon $16.99 172 77% 5.2k $88k (exactly $87,668) Feldspar Games, Ben Allen, Mosman
Slot & Dungeons $8.99 304 83% 9.1k $82k (exactly $81,989) MUC GAMES
Archon Soul $13.99 170 88% 5.1k $71k (exactly $71,349) PolyGryph

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