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Should I ship a Cat Card Battler?
Card Battler + Cats
Of 22 developers who shipped a Cat 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.. 23 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 $4.0k, ×8.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×310 the market median. Revenue is up 115% on the market; 23 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $598 (exactly $598) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.0k (exactly $3,956) |
| Top 25% | $9.6k (exactly $9,595) |
| Top 5% | $147k (exactly $147,052) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 37 |
| Announced | 23 |
| 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 up 115% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Cats
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Card Battler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Deckbuilding, Card Game, Strategy
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 1,491 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 11 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
Cat God Ranch 2024 · $549k 
Epic Auto Towers 2024 · EA · $345k 
Exploding Kittens® 2 2024 · $167k 
Batomon Showdown 2026 · $147k 
Claws Of Power 2026 · $36k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cat God Ranch | older | $9.99 | 1,831 92% | 55k | $549k (exactly $548,751) | CrazyPotato Studio |
| | Epic Auto Towers | · EA | $14.99 | 768 70% | 23k | $345k (exactly $345,370) | Aleksandr Golovkin |
| | Exploding Kittens® 2 | older | $12.49 | 447 75% | 13k | $167k (exactly $167,491) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
| | Batomon Showdown | $14.99 | 327 87% | 9.8k | $147k (exactly $147,052) | berrymint | |
| | Claws Of Power | $6.99 | 170 80% | 5.1k | $36k (exactly $35,649) | 蒜苗 | |
 | TeamTower | · EA older | $19.99 | 37 64% | 1.1k | $22k (exactly $22,189) | pink rabbit |
 | CARD QUEST | $9.99 | 72 69% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $21,578) | MEOW STORE GAME | |
 | In Her Eyes | older | $9.99 | 54 77% | 1.6k | $16k (exactly $16,184) | NotDeadLuna Studio |
 | Cats & Dice | · EA | $7.99 | 51 76% | 1.5k | $12k (exactly $12,225) | Yongjustyong |
 | King of Tokyo - Richard Garfield | $19.99 | 16 68% | 480 | $9.6k (exactly $9,595) | Breakfirst | |
 | Pawker | $9.99 | 27 96% | 810 | $8.1k (exactly $8,092) | Oh Baby Games | |
 | Roulette Dungeon | $8.99 | 26 84% | 780 | $7.0k (exactly $7,012) | Hooded Traveler Games | |
 | Cat Guardian | $7.99 | 19 84% | 570 | $4.6k (exactly $4,554) | Yaeegy | |
 | Hounimal | $8.99 | 15 100% | 450 | $4.0k (exactly $4,046) | TONTORO Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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