Do I ship it?

Games › Class-Based › Class-Based + Card Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Card Battler Class-Based game?

Class-Based + Card Battler

Of 25 developers who shipped a Card Battler Class-Based 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.. 64 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×1.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×110 the market median. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 64 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 90% on the market, 64 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Class-Based + Card Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.3k → $22k → $446k → $7.2k → $3.3k (still earning) → $1.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Class-Based + Card Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $899 (exactly $899)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,248)
Top 25% $7.3k (exactly $7,253)
Top 5% $164k (exactly $164,318)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 57
Announced 64
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $10.99

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 90% on the market, supply 155% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 25%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Class-Based
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Class-Based, Card Battler; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Strategy, Card Game
Price point
$10.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
9 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 1,793 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $7.2k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 64 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Class-Based with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + AutomationFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  2. + Bullet HeavenFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 38 announced
  3. + SupernaturalLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  4. + 2D PlatformerLong shot26 devs · median $539 · 30 announced
  5. + FPSPoor odds22 devs · median $70k · 70 announced
  6. + MMORPGPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  7. + Base BuildingPoor odds18 devs · median $33k · 44 announced
  8. + WarPoor odds17 devs · median $32k · 59 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds16 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds17 devs · median $13k · 42 announced
  11. + Third-Person ShooterPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  12. + WargamePoor odds14 devs · median $9.4k · 28 announced

All 111 pairs on the Class-Based page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Dice & Fold 2024 · $1.4M RUNGORE 2024 · $446k Down with the Ship 2026 · EA · $367k Monster Slayers 2017 · $217k Dawncaster | The RPG Cardventure 2026 · $164k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dice & Fold older $12.99 3,491 83% 105k $1.4M (exactly $1,360,443) Tinymice Entertainment
RUNGORE older $14.99 991 85% 30k $446k (exactly $445,653) YOUR_MOM'S_HP, RavenJm
Down with the Ship · EA $14.99 817 93% 25k $367k (exactly $367,405) Iron Anchor Games
Monster Slayers older $8.99 804 79% 24k $217k (exactly $216,839) Nerdook Productions
Dawncaster | The RPG Cardventure $19.99 274 81% 8.2k $164k (exactly $164,318) Wanderlost Interactive
Flowers and Deities $12.99 265 90% 8.0k $103k (exactly $103,270) Chill Winter Studio
Power Chord older $19.99 170 71% 5.1k $102k (exactly $101,949) Big Blue Bubble
Witch and Council : The Card $14.99 182 48% 5.5k $82k (exactly $81,845) G1 Playground
Doomspire $14.99 140 55% 4.2k $63k (exactly $62,958) Crater Studios
Metroplex Zero: Sci-Fi Card Battler older $19.99 90 96% 2.7k $54k (exactly $53,973) Enigma Dragons LLC
Card Artisan $12.99 36 91% 1.1k $14k (exactly $14,029) Fullen Games
Seekers of Eclipse $10.99 22 86% 660 $7.3k (exactly $7,253) ThinKING Cat Games
Dolven $19.99 12 75% 360 $7.2k (exactly $7,196) Covyne Entertainment, The Kids From Yes… (Covyne Entertainment, The Kids From Yesterday)
DEATHMARK · EA $4.99 35 91% 1.1k $5.2k (exactly $5,240) Wired Creations Studio
Everwayne · EA $10.99 10 40% 300 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) 4Tale Production

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