Do I ship it?

GamesAutomationAutomation + Card Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Card Game Automation game?

Automation + Card Game

Of 42 developers who shipped a Card Game Automation 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.. 40 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $92k, ×147 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 40 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 40 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Card Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 42
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $179 → $1.5k → $5.2k → $599 (still earning) → $418 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + Card Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 42
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $450 (exactly $450)
Top 25% $8.9k (exactly $8,902)
Top 5% $92k (exactly $92,284)
Developers, 2 yr 42
Released games 73
Announced 40
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 45% on the market, supply 280% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 23%, 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.

Automation
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Card Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data

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
Automation, Card Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Management
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 1,699 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $450, 1 in 4 over $8.9k, 1 in 20 over $92k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds36 devs · median $57k · 31 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistStrong odds27 devs · median $4.5k · 32 announced
  3. + Open World Survival CraftFair28 devs · median $307k · 37 announced
  4. + HorrorFair19 devs · median $8.0k · 29 announced
  5. + HistoricalFair26 devs · median $7.9k · 24 announced
  6. + UndergroundFair20 devs · median $7.4k · 32 announced
  7. + Class-BasedFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  8. + MiningFair105 devs · median $4.9k · 164 announced
  9. + Auto BattlerFair112 devs · median $4.5k · 153 announced
  10. + ProgrammingFair84 devs · median $3.8k · 102 announced
  11. + FishingFair40 devs · median $3.4k · 46 announced
  12. + Turn-Based TacticsFair28 devs · median $2.9k · 36 announced

All 135 pairs on the Automation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Last Call BBS older $19.99 1,220 94% 37k $732k (exactly $731,634) Zachtronics
A=B older $4.99 908 94% 27k $136k (exactly $135,928) Artless Games
Fhtagn Simulator older $7.99 535 89% 16k $128k (exactly $128,240) 锁眼工作室
Grail $9.99 345 89% 10k $103k (exactly $103,396) Sokpop Collective
Arcane Trigger $8.99 363 85% 11k $98k (exactly $97,901) MiniWhale
Factory Planner · EA $7.99 385 70% 12k $92k (exactly $92,284) Lebleby Games
Coin Tavern $9.99 114 85% 3.4k $34k (exactly $34,166) Woven Dream Isle
Arcana Academy $14.99 67 71% 2.0k $30k (exactly $30,130) 2A Studio
FeeBay Simulator $5.99 167 91% 5.0k $30k (exactly $30,010) Lake Country Games
The Last Craftsman $9.99 74 94% 2.2k $22k (exactly $22,178) AuraTummyache
出将入相 $6.99 90 72% 2.7k $19k (exactly $18,873) 克里斯工作室
Automatic Kingdom $12.99 28 75% 840 $11k (exactly $10,912) Matthew Pontarolo
Grime&Gold $4.99 66 95% 2.0k $9.9k (exactly $9,880) Pemdora, Zakku, Spartaqui

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