Do I ship it?

GamesCard BattlerCard Battler + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon Card Battler?

Card Battler + Demons

Of 32 developers who shipped a Demon 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.. 70 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $780, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $68k, ×144 the market median. Revenue is up 260% on the market; 70 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 260% on the market, 70 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Card Battler + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $146k → $0 → $1.7k → $359 → $2.5k → $9.9k (still earning) → $420 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Card Battler + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $420 (exactly $420)
Median $776 (exactly $776)
Top 25% $6.6k (exactly $6,593)
Top 5% $68k (exactly $68,377)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 67
Announced 70
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 260% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Card Battler
effort 3 / 10 · high · card rules plus simple encounter logic
Demons
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Card Battler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Card Game, Deckbuilding, Strategy
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 3,094 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $780, 1 in 4 over $6.5k, 1 in 20 over $68k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. All of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 70 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Card Battler with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + ArcadeFair68 devs · median $1.9k · 75 announced
  2. + Bullet HellFair24 devs · median $1.2k · 22 announced
  3. + GamblingFair64 devs · median $1.0k · 77 announced
  4. + 2D FighterFair10 devs · median $1.0k · 11 announced
  5. + ZombiesFair17 devs · median $839 · 22 announced
  6. + Point & ClickFair25 devs · median $629 · 34 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair35 devs · median $628 · 33 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair43 devs · median $449 · 57 announced
  9. + Party GameFair28 devs · median $449 · 35 announced
  10. + SolitaireLong shot77 devs · median $299 · 79 announced
  11. + Asynchronous MultiplayerPoor odds33 devs · median $31k · 56 announced
  12. + CRPGPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 28 announced

All 125 pairs on the Card Battler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Monster Train older $24.99 19,950 95% 599k $15M (exactly $14,956,515) Shiny Shoe
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)
Last Evil older $9.99 3,559 94% 107k $1.1M (exactly $1,066,632) Flametorch
Mahokenshi - The Samurai Deckbuilder older $24.99 464 77% 14k $348k (exactly $347,861) Game Source Studio
Pyrene older $14.99 676 92% 20k $304k (exactly $303,997) Two Tiny Dice
Erannorth Chronicles older $20.99 407 85% 12k $256k (exactly $256,288) Spyridon Thalassinos
Endless Voyage / 无尽航线 older $16.99 407 65% 12k $207k (exactly $207,448) Dalaran Game Studio
Endgame of Devil older $6.99 964 88% 29k $202k (exactly $202,151) MiniWhale
Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder older $19.99 244 61% 7.3k $146k (exactly $146,327) Black Eye Games
Tavern Cards older $29.99 142 72% 4.3k $128k (exactly $127,757) Vadd Game
Karigurashi Ren'ai: Living on Borrowed Love $29.99 76 92% 2.3k $68k (exactly $68,377) ASa Project
Succubless $11.99 146 67% 4.4k $53k (exactly $52,516) Supa Doge
Dead Finger Dice $4.99 230 78% 6.9k $34k (exactly $34,431) Rocket Adrift Games
The Killing Stone · EA $12.99 79 94% 2.4k $31k (exactly $30,786) Question
Lustful BlackJack: My Succubus Dealer $6.99 49 61% 1.5k $10k (exactly $10,275) 78Games, Matariki Studios Co., Ltd
Escape the Dynasty · EA $9.99 33 75% 990 $9.9k (exactly $9,890) CoolStar Games
Auto Dungeon $9.99 22 95% 660 $6.6k (exactly $6,593) Blüd Brüther
Hell Deck $1.00 199 88% 6.0k $6.0k (exactly $5,970) OFFMOON Inc.
Soul Taker $10.00 15 93% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,500) SlovGoblin

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