Roguelike deckbuilders (Balatro, StS)
An average niche: demand and competition are roughly balanced — the idea and execution decide. Average across 4 platforms: niche 50/100, demand 42/100, competition 33/100, development cost 33/100. On Steam: 459 games and 47,852 players online; 23% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $12.89.
Niche
50/100
Demand (0–100)
42/100
Competition
33/100
Dev cost
33/100
Spend per player
$12.89
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
23%
Key findings
- Ranked #47 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on itch.io (58/100) and weakest on App Store (46/100).
- Competition is below typical: 33/100 vs a median of 57/100 — a new game has an easier time getting noticed.
- Development is cheaper than typical: index 33/100 vs a median of 39/100 — the genre is within reach of a small team.
- On Steam, 23% of games reached 500+ reviews — more often than usual (median 16%).
- Small-studio games make up 62% of all Steam games with this tag.
By platform
| Platform | Popularity | Games / leaders’ share | Competition | Niche | Dev cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | 55/100 | 459 | 37/100 | 49/100 | 35/100 |
| itch.io | 45/100 | 142 | 24/100 | 58/100 | 38/100 |
| Yandex Games | no data | ||||
| Google Play | 36/100 | 59% | 37/100 | 48/100 | 30/100 |
| App Store | 33/100 | 46% | 36/100 | 46/100 | 31/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
Across the ObeliskDreamsite Games · $19.99
Commander QuestFlyway Games, Inc. · $11.99
Shadowveil: Legend of The Five RingsPalindrome Interactive · $24.99
Indie
Slay the SpireMega Crit · $24.99
BalatroLocalThunk · $14.99
Backpack BattlesPlayWithFurcifer · $14.99
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology