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Should I ship an AI Card Battler?
Card Battler + Artificial Intelligence
Of 20 developers who shipped an AI Card Battler 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.. 34 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $230k, ×501 the market median. Revenue is up 290095% on the market; 34 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $719 (exactly $719) |
| Top 25% | $16k (exactly $16,182) |
| Top 5% | $238k (exactly $237,782) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 20 |
| Released games | 51 |
| Announced | 34 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 300% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 35%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Card Battler
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card rules plus simple encounter logic
- Artificial Intelligence
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Card Battler; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Action RPG
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 1,900 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Card Battler with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ArcadeFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + GamblingFair
- + 2D FighterFair
- + ZombiesFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Party GameFair
- + SolitaireLong shot
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerPoor odds
- + CRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Fickle Card Legend | $7.99 | 992 67% | 30k | $238k (exactly $237,782) | 偶尔不帅 | |
| | Backpack Dungeon | $3.99 | 656 87% | 20k | $79k (exactly $78,523) | 夜喵 | |
| | The False God's Fold | $11.99 | 70 78% | 2.1k | $25k (exactly $25,179) | Night Owl Games | |
| | Football Rising:Zero to Hero | $14.99 | 54 90% | 1.6k | $24k (exactly $24,284) | Den Spade | |
| | 富甲天下W | older | $7.99 | 101 42% | 3.0k | $24k (exactly $24,210) | T-Time Technology CO., LTD. |
| | The Simulacrum | older | $4.99 | 109 88% | 3.3k | $16k (exactly $16,317) | Trynet Games |
| | Silan: Monster Girl Master! | $8.99 | 60 95% | 1.8k | $16k (exactly $16,182) | 愛の勇者 | |
| | h8machine | older | $9.99 | 44 93% | 1.3k | $13k (exactly $13,187) | gaem by jj |
| | Astral Towers | older | $4.99 | 48 85% | 1.4k | $7.2k (exactly $7,186) | Apus Software |
| | 反图灵测试/Anti-TuringTest | · EA older | $10.99 | 19 78% | 570 | $6.3k (exactly $6,264) | metagalaxy panda |
| | The Devil Card | $6.99 | 17 100% | 510 | $3.6k (exactly $3,565) | Mathieu Bekkaye | |
| | Youth Academy | $5.99 | 14 64% | 420 | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) | Oba Games | |
| | High Stakes: Hot Nights | $2.99 | 25 72% | 750 | $2.2k (exactly $2,242) | Momentum Games | |
| | Banana of Doom | · EA | $5.99 | 9 44% | 270 | $1.6k (exactly $1,617) | Playroom |
| | BrightGlade Tales | $7.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $719 (exactly $719) | Massive Mustache |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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