Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Deckbuilding

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Deckbuilding?

Deckbuilding

Of 1,553 developers who shipped a Deckbuilding 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.. 2,927 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×728 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 2,927 games are announced against 1,038 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 2,927 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Deckbuilding
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,553
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $5.5k → $5.1k → $5.1k → $3.0k → $3.5k → $1.3k (still earning) → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Deckbuilding: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,553
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,679)
Top 25% $18k (exactly $18,345)
Top 5% $346k (exactly $345,755)
Developers, 2 yr 1,553
Released games 2,937
Announced 2,927
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $7.99

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 30% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Deckbuilding
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 70% positive over 315,197 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $18k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 641 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 2,927 games are announced against 1,038 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Deckbuilding

103 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Automation + Deckbuilding Fair $2.8k 44 devs
  2. Deckbuilding + Inventory Management Fair $2.5k 98 devs
  3. Arcade + Deckbuilding Fair $1.9k 170 devs
  4. 2D Fighter + Deckbuilding Fair $959 17 devs
  5. Party Game + Deckbuilding Fair $719 22 devs
  6. Swordplay + Deckbuilding Fair $599 11 devs
  7. Deckbuilding + Point & Click Fair $598 34 devs
  8. Deckbuilding + Traditional Roguelike Fair $537 53 devs
  9. Deckbuilding + Logic Fair $419 84 devs
  10. Deckbuilding + Dating Sim Poor odds $30k 13 devs
  11. Deckbuilding + Visual Novel Poor odds $26k 36 devs
  12. Life Sim + Deckbuilding Poor odds $24k 20 devs
  13. JRPG + Deckbuilding Poor odds $23k 28 devs
  14. CRPG + Deckbuilding Poor odds $19k 12 devs
  15. Asynchronous Multiplayer + Deckbuilding Poor odds $18k 32 devs
  16. Open World + Deckbuilding Poor odds $16k 20 devs
  17. Base Building + Deckbuilding Poor odds $13k 54 devs
  18. City Builder + Deckbuilding Poor odds $13k 48 devs
  19. Party-Based RPG + Deckbuilding Poor odds $12k 38 devs
  20. Turn-Based + Deckbuilding Poor odds $10k 158 devs
  21. Deckbuilding + Mystery Dungeon Poor odds $9.4k 21 devs
  22. Deckbuilding + Roguelike Deckbuilder Poor odds $7.8k 488 devs
  23. Deckbuilding + Time Management Poor odds $7.4k 28 devs
  24. Sandbox + Deckbuilding Poor odds $6.9k 29 devs
  25. Auto Battler + Deckbuilding Poor odds $6.0k 189 devs
  26. Exploration + Deckbuilding Poor odds $5.5k 90 devs
  27. Deckbuilding + Perma Death Poor odds $5.1k 114 devs
  28. Hack and Slash + Deckbuilding Poor odds $5.1k 30 devs
  29. Wargame + Deckbuilding Poor odds $4.8k 23 devs
  30. Deckbuilding + Dice Poor odds $4.8k 58 devs
  31. RTS + Deckbuilding Poor odds $4.6k 52 devs
  32. RPG + Deckbuilding Poor odds $4.5k 404 devs
  33. Action RPG + Deckbuilding Poor odds $4.5k 28 devs
  34. Physics + Deckbuilding Poor odds $4.5k 70 devs
  35. Hex Grid + Deckbuilding Poor odds $4.5k 23 devs
  36. Dungeon Crawler + Deckbuilding Poor odds $4.2k 167 devs
  37. Deckbuilding + Multiple Endings Poor odds $4.1k 62 devs
  38. Procedural Generation + Deckbuilding Poor odds $4.0k 256 devs
  39. Deckbuilding + Match 3 Poor odds $3.8k 21 devs
  40. Tactical RPG + Deckbuilding Poor odds $3.8k 74 devs
  41. Creature Collector + Deckbuilding Poor odds $3.8k 62 devs
  42. Farming Sim + Deckbuilding Poor odds $3.6k 16 devs
  43. Local Co-Op + Deckbuilding Poor odds $3.4k 14 devs
  44. Resource Management + Deckbuilding Poor odds $3.1k 145 devs
  45. Deckbuilding + Tower Defense Poor odds $3.1k 103 devs
  46. Online Co-Op + Deckbuilding Poor odds $3.1k 30 devs
  47. Arena Shooter + Deckbuilding Poor odds $3.1k 9 devs
  48. Building + Deckbuilding Poor odds $3.0k 84 devs
  49. Action RTS + Deckbuilding Poor odds $3.0k 13 devs
  50. Deckbuilding + Roguelite Poor odds $3.0k 904 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Slay the Spire 2019 · $144M Slay the Spire 2 2026 · EA · $138M Inscryption 2021 · $81M Balatro 2024 · $72M Broken Arrow 2025 · $39M
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
Inscryption older $19.99 135,017 96% 4.1M $81M (exactly $80,969,695) Daniel Mullins Games
Balatro older $14.99 160,715 97% 4.8M $72M (exactly $72,273,536) LocalThunk
Broken Arrow $49.99 25,924 55% 778k $39M (exactly $38,878,223) Steel Balalaika
Library Of Ruina older $29.99 40,605 94% 1.2M $37M (exactly $36,532,318) ProjectMoon
Marvel's Midnight Suns older $59.99 17,060 82% 512k $31M (exactly $30,702,882) Firaxis Games
INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road $69.99 11,180 88% 335k $23M (exactly $23,474,646) LEVEL5 Inc.
暖雪 Warm Snow older $17.99 35,270 92% 1.1M $19M (exactly $19,035,219) BadMudStudio
Loop Hero older $14.99 33,816 92% 1.0M $15M (exactly $15,207,055) Four Quarters
9 Kings · EA $19.99 21,352 92% 641k $13M (exactly $12,804,794) Sad Socket
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
Magicraft $15.99 15,051 92% 452k $7.2M (exactly $7,219,965) Wave Games
Monster Train 2 $24.99 8,647 95% 259k $6.5M (exactly $6,482,656) Shiny Shoe
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors $9.99 18,587 96% 558k $5.6M (exactly $5,570,524) poncle, Nosebleed Interactive
The Matchless Kungfu $19.99 6,755 79% 203k $4.1M (exactly $4,050,973) HuanMos Game
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead

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