Do I ship it?

Games › Collectathon › Collectathon + Card Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Collectathon Card Battler?

Collectathon + Card Battler

Of 35 developers who shipped a Collectathon 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.. 33 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $630, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $90. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 33 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 33 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Collectathon + Card Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $449 → $718 → $2.6k → $1.2k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Collectathon + Card Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $628 (exactly $628)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $22,178)
Top 5% $579k (exactly $578,757)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 63
Announced 33
Effort 4 / 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 up 55% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Collectathon
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Collectathon, Card Battler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Deckbuilding, Adventure, Sports
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 3,095 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $630, 1 in 4 over $22k, 1 in 20 over $570k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds33 devs · median $33k · 42 announced
  2. + CapitalismStrong odds76 devs · median $6.2k · 75 announced
  3. + Turn-BasedFair7 devs · median $14k · 8 announced
  4. + EconomyFair125 devs · median $3.8k · 151 announced
  5. + ManagementFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  6. + CrimeFair10 devs · median $3.4k · 14 announced
  7. + Level EditorFair15 devs · median $3.4k · 17 announced
  8. + Artificial IntelligenceFair46 devs · median $2.7k · 30 announced
  9. + SokobanFair12 devs · median $2.4k · 9 announced
  10. + MythologyFair18 devs · median $2.4k · 20 announced
  11. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $2.3k · 37 announced
  12. + Combat RacingFair10 devs · median $2.2k · 12 announced

All 178 pairs on the Collectathon page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection 2026 · $788k Card Shop Simulator Multiplayer 2025 · $579k Anode Heart 2023 · $236k Canyon of Outlaws 2025 · $110k Ammo Bounce 2025 · $104k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection $39.99 657 96% 20k $788k (exactly $788,203) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Card Shop Simulator Multiplayer $11.99 1,609 82% 48k $579k (exactly $578,757) ShaneGame
Anode Heart older $17.99 438 90% 13k $236k (exactly $236,389) Stove Powered Games
Canyon of Outlaws $39.99 92 89% 2.8k $110k (exactly $110,372) Javlier P
Ammo Bounce $39.99 87 88% 2.6k $104k (exactly $104,374) TurboJo
Double Driver $39.99 84 90% 2.5k $101k (exactly $100,775) FinComBan
Placid Plastic Deck - A Quiet Quest $12.99 208 80% 6.2k $81k (exactly $81,058) turbolento games, Fantastico Studio
Gold and Graves $5.99 180 86% 5.4k $32k (exactly $32,346) Yoon
Love n Dream: Virtual Happiness older $2.99 316 74% 9.5k $28k (exactly $28,345) Secret Labo
Faerie Solitaire Dire · EA older $19.99 41 68% 1.2k $25k (exactly $24,588) Subsoap
Football Rising:Zero to Hero $14.99 54 90% 1.6k $24k (exactly $24,284) Den Spade
The Last Craftsman $9.99 74 94% 2.2k $22k (exactly $22,178) AuraTummyache
Cardaire $9.99 50 86% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) aeiou

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