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Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Card Battler?
Card Battler + Dark Fantasy
Of 139 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy 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.. 335 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $840, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×249 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 335 games are announced against 114 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $836 (exactly $836) |
| Top 25% | $10k (exactly $10,221) |
| Top 5% | $157k (exactly $156,522) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 139 |
| Released games | 260 |
| Announced | 335 |
| 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 down 85% on the market, supply 340% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Card Battler
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card rules plus simple encounter logic
- Dark Fantasy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Card Battler; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Game, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 14,430 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 6 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 335 games are announced against 114 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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
Tainted Grail: Conquest 2021 · $4.6M 
Black Book 2021 · $4.0M 
Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles 2023 · $2.3M 
Knock on the Coffin Lid 2024 · $2.0M 
Slots & Daggers 2025 · $1.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Tainted Grail: Conquest | older | $19.99 | 7,589 90% | 228k | $4.6M (exactly $4,551,123) | Questline |
| | Black Book | older | $24.99 | 5,306 93% | 159k | $4.0M (exactly $3,977,908) | Morteshka |
| | Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles | older | $24.99 | 3,011 92% | 90k | $2.3M (exactly $2,257,347) | Little Leo Games |
| | Knock on the Coffin Lid | older | $24.99 | 2,727 82% | 82k | $2.0M (exactly $2,044,432) | RedBoon |
| | Slots & Daggers | $7.99 | 7,421 93% | 223k | $1.8M (exactly $1,778,814) | Friedemann | |
 | Alina of the Arena | older | $14.99 | 3,577 91% | 107k | $1.6M (exactly $1,608,577) | PINIX |
 | Thea 2: The Shattering | older | $24.99 | 1,892 79% | 57k | $1.4M (exactly $1,418,432) | MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio |
 | Banners of Ruin | older | $19.99 | 2,298 79% | 69k | $1.4M (exactly $1,378,111) | MonteBearo |
 | Deep Sky Derelicts | older | $19.99 | 1,985 73% | 60k | $1.2M (exactly $1,190,404) | Snowhound Games |
 | Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars | older | $29.99 | 1,277 80% | 38k | $1.1M (exactly $1,148,917) | Square Enix |
 | Forbidden Solitaire | $15.99 | 2,245 96% | 67k | $1.1M (exactly $1,076,926) | Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertai… (Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertainment) | |
 | SpellRogue | $19.99 | 1,566 86% | 47k | $939k (exactly $939,130) | Guidelight Games | |
 | Death Howl | $19.99 | 1,301 92% | 39k | $780k (exactly $780,210) | The Outer Zone | |
 | Shards of Order | $9.99 | 578 90% | 17k | $173k (exactly $173,227) | Fardust | |
 | Throne of Bone | $16.99 | 327 85% | 9.8k | $167k (exactly $166,672) | Windmill Slam | |
 | Moonsigil Atlas | $19.99 | 261 81% | 7.8k | $157k (exactly $156,522) | Snake Tower Games | |
 | Godslayer Arena | · EA | $14.99 | 257 76% | 7.7k | $116k (exactly $115,573) | Hippo Rider Games |
 | Flowers and Deities | $12.99 | 265 90% | 8.0k | $103k (exactly $103,270) | Chill Winter Studio | |
 | Hungry Horrors | · EA | $14.99 | 209 98% | 6.3k | $94k (exactly $93,987) | Clumsy Bear Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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