Games › Crafting › Crafting + Card Battler
Should I ship a Crafting Card Battler?
Crafting + Card Battler
Of 27 developers who shipped a Crafting 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.. 61 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×243 the market median. Revenue is up 130% on the market; 61 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.1k (exactly $1,077) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,246) |
| Top 25% | $22k (exactly $22,178) |
| Top 5% | $153k (exactly $152,771) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 27 |
| Released games | 65 |
| Announced | 61 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 130% on the market, supply 185% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 25%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Crafting
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Card Battler
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card rules plus simple encounter logic
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Crafting, Card Battler; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Management
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 1,561 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Crafting with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + SportsFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + IdlerFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + WesternPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
Thea 2: The Shattering 2019 · $1.4M 
Aces & Adventures 2023 · $1.3M 
Ooblets 2023 · $1.2M 
WitchHand 2024 · $222k 
Turnbound 2026 · $201k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Thea 2: The Shattering | older | $24.99 | 1,892 79% | 57k | $1.4M (exactly $1,418,432) | MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio |
| | Aces & Adventures | older | $19.99 | 2,220 89% | 67k | $1.3M (exactly $1,331,334) | Triple.B.Titles |
| | Ooblets | older | $29.99 | 1,388 91% | 42k | $1.2M (exactly $1,248,784) | Glumberland |
| | WitchHand | older | $11.99 | 616 90% | 18k | $222k (exactly $221,575) | Jon Nielsen |
| | Turnbound | $14.99 | 446 78% | 13k | $201k (exactly $200,566) | 1TK | |
 | Stackmon | $13.99 | 364 75% | 11k | $153k (exactly $152,771) | Riftpoint Entertainment | |
 | Artist Life Simulator | older | $19.99 | 173 79% | 5.2k | $104k (exactly $103,748) | Interactive Fate |
 | FreeCell Quest | older | $9.99 | 278 81% | 8.3k | $83k (exactly $83,317) | Legend Studio |
 | The Dead Await | $12.99 | 108 67% | 3.2k | $42k (exactly $42,088) | Shotx | |
 | Dead Finger Dice | $4.99 | 230 78% | 6.9k | $34k (exactly $34,431) | Rocket Adrift Games | |
 | Paper Kingdom | $12.99 | 65 61% | 2.0k | $25k (exactly $25,330) | obece | |
 | Apocalypse: The Last RV | · EA | $4.99 | 159 68% | 4.8k | $24k (exactly $23,802) | 光年切片工作室 |
 | The Last Craftsman | $9.99 | 74 94% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $22,178) | AuraTummyache | |
 | Decks of the Damned | $9.99 | 54 68% | 1.6k | $16k (exactly $16,184) | Thorian Games | |
 | Card Artisan | $12.99 | 36 91% | 1.1k | $14k (exactly $14,029) | Fullen Games | |
 | CrafTAE | $7.99 | 25 88% | 750 | $6.0k (exactly $5,992) | mappe |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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