Deckbuilders
An average niche: demand and competition are roughly balanced — the idea and execution decide. Average across 4 platforms: niche 41/100, demand 56/100, competition 65/100, development cost 34/100. On Steam: 1,357 games and 74,101 players online; 18% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $11.55.
Niche
41/100
Demand (0–100)
56/100
Competition
65/100
Dev cost
34/100
Spend per player
$11.55
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
18%
Key findings
- Ranked #84 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on itch.io (59/100) and weakest on Google Play (26/100).
- Competition is above typical: 65/100 vs a median of 57/100 — standing out will take a strong hook or marketing.
- Development is cheaper than typical: index 34/100 vs a median of 39/100 — the genre is within reach of a small team.
- On Steam, 18% of games reached 500+ reviews — about usual (median 16%).
- Small-studio games make up 53% of all Steam games with this tag.
By platform
| Platform | Popularity | Games / leaders’ share | Competition | Niche | Dev cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | 59/100 | 1,357 | 52/100 | 45/100 | 34/100 |
| itch.io | 81/100 | 3,552 | 57/100 | 59/100 | 35/100 |
| Yandex Games | no data | ||||
| Google Play | 45/100 | 90% | 85/100 | 26/100 | 30/100 |
| App Store | 38/100 | 72% | 68/100 | 35/100 | 36/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
Marvel's Midnight SunsFiraxis Games · $79.99
Shadowverse CCGCygames, Inc. · free
GWENT: The Witcher Card GameCD PROJEKT RED · free
Indie
Slay the SpireMega Crit · $24.99
BalatroLocalThunk · $14.99
InscryptionDaniel Mullins Games · $19.99
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology