Insider Trading

About

Insider Trading is a single player casual turn-based strategy game. It was developed by Naiive and was released on February 18, 2026. It received positive reviews from players.

A stock-themed roguelike deckbuilder where the market you create can just as easily crush you. Insider Trading is a deckbuilder about manipulating the stock market. Each run you play as a trader with a unique strategy and a deck of market-moving cards. Play your hand to move prices, controlling how the market reacts. Greed acts like rocket fuel, accelerating gains and risk. Only you can deci…

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81%

Audience ScoreBased on 323 reviews

gameplay26 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

Unique and innovative deckbuilder roguelike with a stock market theme offering deep strategic gameplay and meaningful resource management.
Addictive and rewarding gameplay loop with satisfying synergies, combos, and multiple ways to play, accompanied by excellent music and retro-style visuals.
Well-made with solid systems, strong developer communication, frequent updates that improved balance, and supported platforms including Linux and Steam Deck.

Steep learning curve and very high difficulty with punishing RNG that can make many runs feel unwinnable or frustrating, especially at higher levels.
Gameplay is heavily reliant on luck with forced deck expansion and limited ways to remove unwanted cards, leading to bloated decks and less meaningful decisions.
Some UI/UX issues including small and unclear card visuals, lack of in-depth tutorials or explanations for mechanics, and occasional bugs or crashes impacting playability.

gameplay
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
59%
4%
The gameplay features unique, strategic deckbuilding mechanics that balance positive and negative elements, offering a deep and engaging roguelike experience with a satisfying loop that rewards learning and optimization. However, it has a steep learning curve, some balance issues, and a notable reliance on RNG that can impact enjoyment, especially for newer players. Fans of complex, challenging trading and deckbuilder games will likely appreciate its originality and depth despite occasional frustration.
- “I love that the game’s core mechanics are simple enough to pick up but require deep strategic decision making to succeed.”
- “Each new mechanic or card you encounter immediately gives you new ideas on how you can utilize it in your current or future runs which keeps things fresh and exciting every time.”
- “Fantastic deckbuilder with lots of different card combos and satisfying gameplay loops.”
- “On the easiest difficulty after the demo and now the full release, I think the goals or mechanics need to change to reflect any difficulty besides hardcore.”
- “There isn't much of an explanation on the system mechanics or how to be successful, also, there isn't much to unlock which makes the desire to grind runs low.”
- “It's mechanically very similar to Balatro, except the gameplay just isn’t rewarding.”
music
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
The music is widely praised as catchy, addictive, and perfectly integrated with gameplay, enhancing the overall vibe and immersion of the game. Many users highlight its retro, upbeat style and how sound effects sync seamlessly with in-game actions, making the soundtrack a standout feature that keeps players engaged for hours.
- “The direct integration of the gameplay with the music is sick as hell.”
- “The music, sfx, and visuals are also incredible at setting the mood, giving the game a unique vibe.”
- “The best bit of the game is when you're trading and the card activation clicks sync with the banger soundtrack.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
44%
17%
The game's graphics are praised for their minimalist, retro-inspired aesthetic that effectively sets a unique and engaging mood. While some find the visuals charming and polished, others feel the card graphics are goofy or simplistic. Overall, the sleek audiovisual design enhances the deckbuilding experience, though optimization issues like overheating have been noted.
- “The music, SFX, and visuals are also incredible at setting the mood, giving the game a unique vibe.”
- “Extremely polished sound and visuals.”
- “But it's a lot of fun and the audiovisuals are totally sleek.”
- “More than anything, my issue is with the visuals of the cards.”
- “Secondly, there are major overheating issues for a graphically simple program. I hope the devs can properly optimize this game; I doubt it's an issue on my end (PC specs attached).”
- “The graphics are goofy, retro, and pretty minimalist.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
Replayability opinions are mixed: while some players appreciate the variety of builds, classes, and difficulty levels that offer substantial replay value, others feel the game lacks lasting replayability or that it fades quickly, especially compared to similar titles. The unique core gameplay loop is praised but may not fully compensate for perceived content limitations.
- “Lots of fun builds, a handful of different classes that play differently, multiple difficulty levels, and tons of replayability.”
- “It even has replayability and a difficulty curve to it.”
- “There also seems to be a fair amount of replayability (assuming the difficulty is reasonable for the other starting decks).”
- “I can possibly blame my Steam library of simplistic roguelikes for maybe why I couldn't get on a legitimate run in this game, but either way, the replayability faded quickly.”
- “Lacks replayability”
- “Price may be a bit steep compared to content and replayability, but I think the core loop is so unique for the genre and helps tip that scale back a bit.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The game exhibits stability issues such as crashes on M-series Macs in OpenGL mode and freezing when resizing windows in normal rendering mode. Additionally, players report bugs causing the game to freeze during card trades. However, it runs smoothly on older laptops and some Linux systems.
- “The game runs great on older laptops with OpenGL.”
- “It runs great on my ThinkPad/Linux, even though it's not my favorite game.”
- “Thankfully, the sessions are short and it runs smoothly.”
- “Crashes in OpenGL mode on M-series Macs (and maybe Intel? Unsure.), and in normal rendering mode, the process freezes when attempting to change window size.”
- “Regardless of whether I hit trade or skip, nothing happens; the game freezes.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game emphasizes strategic deck-building and resource management over pure market mechanics, making it engaging for fans of optimization gameplay. Additionally, it runs flawlessly on the Steam Deck, indicating strong technical performance and smooth optimization.
- “Performance on Steam Deck: it runs flawlessly.”
- “Over time, gameplay revolves more around deck optimization and resource control than actual market reasoning.”
- “If you enjoy strategic deck-building and resource optimization, this is worth trying.”
- “Rig the market prices, drive them up & down, buy low, sell high, consume performance enhancing pills.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor is widely praised as hilarious and adds significant enjoyment to the game, with users confident it will only improve over time.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is seen as tedious and slow, with a complex and unintuitive UI/UX that hampers the experience. The balancing feels ineffective, making progression frustrating and discouraging for some players.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users criticize the game's monetization for feeling exploitative, particularly being forced to promote the game as part of its advertising strategy.