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Should I ship a Card Game Arcade game?
Arcade + Card Game
Of 127 developers who shipped a Card Game Arcade game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 130 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 90 developers shipped in the last year and 130 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $479 (exactly $479) |
| Top 25% | $3.1k (exactly $3,116) |
| Top 5% | $57k (exactly $57,286) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 127 |
| Released games | 234 |
| Announced | 130 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 down 35% on the market, supply 135% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Arcade, Card Game; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Roguelike
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 8,515 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 52 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 130 games are announced against 90 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Arcade with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + TrainsFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + MiningFair
- + FaithFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + LootFair
- + VampiresFair
Comparable games
Balatro 2024 · $72M 
ROUNDS 2021 · $6.4M 
SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION 2019 · $2.5M 
RACCOIN: Coin Pusher Roguelike 2026 · $1.5M 
Heretic's Fork 2023 · $928k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Balatro | older | $14.99 | 160,715 97% | 4.8M | $72M (exactly $72,273,536) | LocalThunk |
| | ROUNDS | older | $5.99 | 35,738 95% | 1.1M | $6.4M (exactly $6,422,119) | Landfall |
| | 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.) |
| | RACCOIN: Coin Pusher Roguelike | $11.99 | 4,239 82% | 127k | $1.5M (exactly $1,524,768) | Doraccoon | |
| | Heretic's Fork | older | $9.99 | 3,097 85% | 93k | $928k (exactly $928,171) | 9FingerGames |
 | Last Call BBS | older | $19.99 | 1,220 94% | 37k | $732k (exactly $731,634) | Zachtronics |
 | This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker | $5.99 | 1,781 86% | 53k | $320k (exactly $320,046) | Mash | |
 | Cursed Words: The Word Game That Isn't | $14.99 | 698 95% | 21k | $314k (exactly $313,891) | Buried Things | |
 | FORCED SHOWDOWN | older | $19.99 | 491 82% | 15k | $294k (exactly $294,453) | BetaDwarf |
 | Dogpile | $9.99 | 708 95% | 21k | $212k (exactly $212,188) | Studio Folly, Toot Games, Foot | |
 | Plinbo: Roguelike Plinko | $6.99 | 379 67% | 11k | $79k (exactly $79,476) | Raphus & Co. | |
 | Roulette Hero | $9.99 | 260 92% | 7.8k | $78k (exactly $77,922) | CLLC Studio | |
 | Lucky Shot | $12.99 | 147 97% | 4.4k | $57k (exactly $57,286) | Deliver Games | |
 | TypInc. | $9.99 | 102 74% | 3.1k | $31k (exactly $30,569) | Game Game Games | |
 | STICKER/BALL | $7.99 | 118 90% | 3.5k | $28k (exactly $28,285) | bilge | |
 | Lucky Lord: The Coin Pusher of Fate | $7.99 | 83 77% | 2.5k | $20k (exactly $19,895) | Star Seeker Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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