Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Card Game / Deckbuilding
Card Game + Deckbuilding: a typical launch earns $1,515 in its first year
That is the median of 228 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 45 of 463 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 38.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 69% on the year before: 445 against 263.
- China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese
- Price
- $1,515 median of 228 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −65.4% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 445 263 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,290 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 2,535 carrying both tags
Boards
as of 30 Sep 2026Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.
| Board | Value | Interval | Sample | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it. | 0.42%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.23% to 0.64% | 59 ranked of 1,290 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #554 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 1.16xhits against expected | 0.94x to 1.45x | 463 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,972 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −29%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −38% to −17% | 80 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,157 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −13%review growth against same-age games | −22% to −4% | 80 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,390 of 2,461pairs on this board |
Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.
Launch success
launches 6 to 30 months oldMatured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.
- Launches
- 463
- Hit rate
- 9.7%8.2% to 14.6%
- Expected rate
- 8.3%
- Against expected
- 1.16x0.94x to 1.45x
Launch window: indie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old). Hit odds are shrunk toward the Steam-wide rate by 3 expected hits.
Revenue spread
463 launchesEstimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.
- Bottom tenth
- $0
- Median
- $2,104
- Top tenth
- $89,904
Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.
Supply
raw release countsGames released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.
- Change
- +69%
- Against Steam
- +24%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Card GameGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- DeckbuildingGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Comparable games
8 indie titlesThe biggest indie games in this pair by estimated lifetime gross. Revenue is shown as a number at 50 or more reviews, as a range at 10 to 49, and not at all below 10.
- Slay the Spire 2 (opens the Steam store)2026 · 185,361 reviews, 61% positiveest. $73M
- Balatro (opens the Steam store)2024 · 161,221 reviews, 97% positiveest. $46M
- 9 Kings (opens the Steam store)2025 · 21,459 reviews, 92% positiveest. $8.4M
- The Bazaar (opens the Steam store)2025 · 15,044 reviews, 69% positiveest. $5M
- Monster Train 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 8,681 reviews, 95% positiveest. $3.9M
- Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors (opens the Steam store)2026 · 18,708 reviews, 96% positiveest. $3.3M
- Super Fantasy Kingdom (opens the Steam store)2025 · 5,648 reviews, 86% positiveest. $2.2M
- StarVaders (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,774 reviews, 97% positiveest. $1.7M
More with Card Game
pairs with Card Game- Card Game + Roguelike Deckbuilder$6,32394 launches priced, 164 releases in 12 months
- Card Game + Auto Battler$2,67141 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
- Card Game + Roguelite$2,214162 launches priced, 351 releases in 12 months
- Card Game + Dungeon Crawler$1,96232 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Card Game + Roguelike$1,821201 launches priced, 431 releases in 12 months
- Card Game + Turn-Based$1,61733 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
More with Deckbuilding
pairs with Deckbuilding- Deckbuilding + Auto Battler$8,45742 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- Deckbuilding + Roguelike Deckbuilder$8,092105 launches priced, 232 releases in 12 months
- Turn-Based Strategy + Deckbuilding$3,05388 launches priced, 169 releases in 12 months
- Roguelite + Deckbuilding$3,015158 launches priced, 365 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Deckbuilding$2,790205 launches priced, 456 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Deckbuilding$2,63051 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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