Do I ship it?

GamesTrading Card GameTrading Card Game + Action

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Action Trading Card Game?

Trading Card Game + Action

Only 13 developers shipped an Action Trading Card Game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Cardburners, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 58 more are announced, ×6.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 9 developers shipped in the last year and 58 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 125% on the market, 58 announced, ×6.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Trading Card Game + Action
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $450 → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Trading Card Game + Action: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $1.7k (exactly $1,650)
Top 5% $17k (exactly $17,383)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 75
Announced 58
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 up 125% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 32%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Trading Card Game
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Trading Card Game, Action; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Card Battler, Card Game, Deckbuilding
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 2D, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 98 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.6k, 1 in 20 over $17k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. All of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Trading Card Game with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Immersive SimStrong odds18 devs · median $30k · 13 announced
  2. + SandboxFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  3. + Inventory ManagementFair21 devs · median $1.5k · 28 announced
  4. + Procedural GenerationPoor odds10 devs · median $10k · 26 announced
  5. + TradingPoor odds16 devs · median $10k · 36 announced
  6. + Life SimPoor odds18 devs · median $10k · 21 announced
  7. + CollectathonPoor odds26 devs · median $6.3k · 41 announced
  8. + HistoricalPoor odds15 devs · median $6.1k · 25 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds11 devs · median $4.9k · 25 announced
  10. + Auto BattlerPoor odds22 devs · median $3.4k · 27 announced
  11. + Roguelike DeckbuilderPoor odds24 devs · median $3.4k · 38 announced
  12. + Online Co-OpPoor odds13 devs · median $3.1k · 36 announced

All 69 pairs on the Trading Card Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions older $59.99 5,072 73% 152k $9.1M (exactly $9,128,078) TAMSOFT CORPORATION
Kingdom Rush Vengeance - Tower Defense older $19.99 9,906 93% 297k $5.9M (exactly $5,940,628) Ironhide Game Studio
Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist older $19.99 4,452 83% 134k $2.7M (exactly $2,669,864) Other Ocean Interactive
SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION older $59.99 1,404 82% 42k $2.5M (exactly $2,526,779) Dimps Corporation, SAFARI GAMES Co., Lt… (Dimps Corporation, SAFARI GAMES Co., Ltd.)
Faeria older $19.99 1,520 83% 46k $912k (exactly $911,544) Abrakam Entertainment SA
Zup! S older $1.99 15,168 96% 455k $906k (exactly $905,530) Quiet River
Zup! 2 older $1.99 6,490 95% 195k $387k (exactly $387,453) Quiet River
FORCED SHOWDOWN older $19.99 491 82% 15k $294k (exactly $294,453) BetaDwarf
Zup! 8 older $1.99 4,176 95% 125k $249k (exactly $249,307) Quiet River
Zup! 5 older $1.99 2,856 93% 86k $171k (exactly $170,503) Quiet River
Cardburners $9.99 58 98% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,383) GrosChevaux
Wild Country $24.99 11 54% 330 $8.2k (exactly $8,247) Lost Native
Becoming Captain - The Roguelike Deckbuilder $10.99 7 100% 210 $2.3k (exactly $2,308) Le Havre Création
Cat Hits the Deck · EA $5.00 11 100% 330 $1.7k (exactly $1,650) Arc Willow
Food Fight $9.99 2 50% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Recoil Mojo
Battle Babes 3 $14.99 1 100% 30 $450 (exactly $450) Recoil Mojo
The Legacy of Shadow's Bane TCG $14.99 1 100% 30 $450 (exactly $450) Omni-Games and Collectibles LLC
Alpha Genesis · EA $4.99 2 50% 60 $299 (exactly $299) Estro.Games
Carteado $2.99 3 100% 90 $269 (exactly $269) gump.dev
Games for Stream! $3.99 2 100% 60 $239 (exactly $239) Lacozy

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