Do I ship it?

GamesCharacter CustomizationCharacter Customization + Card Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Character Customization Card Battler?

Character Customization + Card Battler

Of 40 developers who shipped a Character Customization 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.. 99 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×447 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 99 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 99 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Customization + Card Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $22k → $5.4k → $23k → $899 → $50k → $1.3k → $5.2k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Customization + Card Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,679)
Top 25% $19k (exactly $19,251)
Top 5% $281k (exactly $280,660)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 118
Announced 99
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 30% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, 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.

Character Customization
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Character Customization, Card Battler; 7 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
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 6,318 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $19k, 1 in 20 over $280k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 99 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Football (American)Strong odds14 devs · median $3.6k · 12 announced
  2. + Real-TimeStrong odds7 devs · median $2.0k · 6 announced
  3. + Music-Based Procedural GenerationFair10 devs · median $18k · 8 announced
  4. + TransportationFair19 devs · median $7.2k · 24 announced
  5. + MinigamesFair27 devs · median $5.7k · 34 announced
  6. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $3.2k · 13 announced
  7. + BikesFair11 devs · median $1.5k · 10 announced
  8. + IdlerFair210 devs · median $1.2k · 286 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair146 devs · median $1.2k · 190 announced
  10. + GamblingFair30 devs · median $836 · 32 announced
  11. + Precision PlatformerFair103 devs · median $748 · 116 announced
  12. + TypingFair27 devs · median $539 · 38 announced

All 250 pairs on the Character Customization page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Marvel's Midnight Suns older $59.99 17,060 82% 512k $31M (exactly $30,702,882) Firaxis Games
觅长生 older $14.99 27,072 93% 812k $12M (exactly $12,174,278) Chalcedony Network
Esports Godfather older $19.99 4,319 90% 130k $2.6M (exactly $2,590,104) Asteroid Game Studio
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.)
Ooblets older $29.99 1,388 91% 42k $1.2M (exactly $1,248,784) Glumberland
Warhammer Underworlds - Shadespire Edition (Classic) older $29.99 1,059 70% 32k $953k (exactly $952,782) Steel Sky Productions, Tin Man Games
Guilty as Sock! $5.50 4,836 89% 145k $798k (exactly $797,940) Demon Max
The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game - Definitive Edition older $19.99 1,201 76% 36k $720k (exactly $720,240) ·
Shadowhand: RPG Card Game older $16.99 668 82% 20k $340k (exactly $340,480) Grey Alien Games
Dream Tactics older $17.99 578 93% 17k $312k (exactly $311,947) Spectra Entertainment Inc.
Youtubers Life 3 $19.99 468 50% 14k $281k (exactly $280,660) UPLAY Online
Grail $9.99 345 89% 10k $103k (exactly $103,396) Sokpop Collective
Golden Swirl $19.99 149 92% 4.5k $89k (exactly $89,355) Snako Production
Takara Cards $14.99 112 83% 3.4k $50k (exactly $50,366) Post Mortem Pixels
The Dead Await $12.99 108 67% 3.2k $42k (exactly $42,088) Shotx
Claymores of the Lost Kingdom $9.99 83 67% 2.5k $25k (exactly $24,875) Ultaan Games
Football Rising:Zero to Hero $14.99 54 90% 1.6k $24k (exactly $24,284) Den Spade
魔哆魔哆 Modo Modo $7.99 94 95% 2.8k $23k (exactly $22,532) HAJI HEAVY INDUSTIRES
Three Kingdoms:Yi · EA $9.30 69 97% 2.1k $19k (exactly $19,251) XL Studio

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