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Should I ship a Dystopian Card Battler?
Card Battler + Dystopian
Only 16 developers shipped a Dystopian Card Battler in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, As We Descend, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 42 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.9k, ×10 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $800k, ×1687 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 42 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.9k (exactly $4,940) |
| Top 25% | $34k (exactly $34,431) |
| Top 5% | $801k (exactly $801,199) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 30 |
| Announced | 42 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 95% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, 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
- Dystopian
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Card Battler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Game, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 2,159 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | As We Descend | · EA | $19.99 | 1,336 86% | 40k | $801k (exactly $801,199) | Box Dragon |
| | Shambles: Sons of Apocalypse | $19.99 | 340 77% | 10k | $204k (exactly $203,898) | EXLIX | |
| | Aeon's End | older | $14.99 | 438 82% | 13k | $197k (exactly $196,969) | Handelabra Games Inc. |
| | Deepest Chamber: Resurrection | older | $12.99 | 419 79% | 13k | $163k (exactly $163,284) | Balcony Softworks |
| | System Crash | older | $14.99 | 250 83% | 7.5k | $112k (exactly $112,425) | Rogue Moon Studios |
| | Power Chord | older | $19.99 | 170 71% | 5.1k | $102k (exactly $101,949) | Big Blue Bubble |
| | 长明火计划 Project: Eternal Flame | older | $19.99 | 77 88% | 2.3k | $46k (exactly $46,177) | 唐扬Studio |
| | Vanguard Exiles | · EA | $19.99 | 61 81% | 1.8k | $37k (exactly $36,582) | The Tea Division |
| | Dead Finger Dice | $4.99 | 230 78% | 6.9k | $34k (exactly $34,431) | Rocket Adrift Games | |
| | Cartridge Defense | older | $11.99 | 80 91% | 2.4k | $29k (exactly $28,776) | Out Gaming |
| | Vestiges: Fallen Tribes | $24.99 | 36 80% | 1.1k | $27k (exactly $26,989) | WanadevStudio | |
| | Dictator Simulator: Gradnar | $4.99 | 84 97% | 2.5k | $13k (exactly $12,575) | GortagonGame | |
| | Ender theater | $9.99 | 28 50% | 840 | $8.4k (exactly $8,392) | FeatherRain | |
| | Battle Of The Abyss | $4.99 | 33 93% | 990 | $4.9k (exactly $4,940) | 1029studio | |
| | Nybble | $9.99 | 9 100% | 270 | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) | Gummy Skunk | |
| | Loopweavers: Dimensional Alliances | $8.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $539 (exactly $539) | Alejandro Rodríguez Fernández |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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