Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Card Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Card Battler Action RPG?

Action RPG + Card Battler

Only 16 developers shipped a Card Battler Action RPG 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, Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 40 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×1.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $780k, ×526 the market median. Revenue is up 370% on the market; 40 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 370% on the market, 40 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Card Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $807 → $4.3k → $628 (still earning) → $1.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Card Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,650)
Top 25% $89k (exactly $89,355)
Top 5% $788k (exactly $788,203)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 47
Announced 40
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.99

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 370% on the market, supply 200% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Action RPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Card Battler
effort 3 / 10 · high · card rules plus simple encounter logic

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Action RPG, Card Battler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Deckbuilding, Strategy
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Isometric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 2,170 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $89k, 1 in 20 over $780k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + NavalFair17 devs · median $15k · 11 announced
  2. + Local Co-OpFair68 devs · median $6.0k · 82 announced
  3. + WesternFair13 devs · median $5.5k · 15 announced
  4. + Local MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $5.5k · 56 announced
  5. + Walking SimulatorLong shot35 devs · median $450 · 33 announced
  6. + WuxiaPoor odds7 devs · median $198k · 28 announced
  7. + Character Action GamePoor odds14 devs · median $105k · 55 announced
  8. + MechsPoor odds21 devs · median $59k · 43 announced
  9. + Colony SimPoor odds11 devs · median $58k · 35 announced
  10. + Dating SimPoor odds31 devs · median $44k · 47 announced
  11. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds23 devs · median $26k · 69 announced
  12. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds77 devs · median $25k · 91 announced

All 211 pairs on the Action RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

One Step From Eden 2020 · $3.6M Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection 2026 · $788k Mahokenshi - The Samurai Deckbuilder 2023 · $348k Fickle Card Legend 2026 · $238k Godslayer Arena 2025 · EA · $116k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
One Step From Eden older $19.99 6,039 94% 181k $3.6M (exactly $3,621,588) Thomas Moon Kang
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection $39.99 657 96% 20k $788k (exactly $788,203) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Mahokenshi - The Samurai Deckbuilder older $24.99 464 77% 14k $348k (exactly $347,861) Game Source Studio
Fickle Card Legend $7.99 992 67% 30k $238k (exactly $237,782) 偶尔不帅
Godslayer Arena · EA $14.99 257 76% 7.7k $116k (exactly $115,573) Hippo Rider Games
Golden Swirl $19.99 149 92% 4.5k $89k (exactly $89,355) Snako Production
Criminal Dissidia older $12.99 105 62% 3.2k $41k (exactly $40,918) 双星骑
Silan: Monster Girl Master! $8.99 60 95% 1.8k $16k (exactly $16,182) 愛の勇者
School of Magic: Deck & Slash · EA $19.99 18 66% 540 $11k (exactly $10,795) PartTimeIndie
The Land of Glass older $14.99 10 50% 300 $4.5k (exactly $4,497) Dual Wield Software
Trial of Ariah $11.95 12 91% 360 $4.3k (exactly $4,302) 30 Minute Games
Cat Hits the Deck · EA $5.00 11 100% 330 $1.7k (exactly $1,650) Arc Willow
Heroes & Dice $10.99 5 80% 150 $1.6k (exactly $1,648) Elite Gorgon Games
Freedom Maker $2.99 9 88% 270 $807 (exactly $807) TansanMilMil

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