Do I ship it?

GamesEconomyEconomy + Card Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Card Battler Economy game?

Economy + Card Battler

Of 25 developers who shipped a Card Battler Economy game 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.. 38 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $810, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $570k, ×922 the market median. Revenue is up 130% on the market; 38 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 130% on the market, 38 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Economy + Card Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $809 → $2.2k → $1.0k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Economy + Card Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $809 (exactly $809)
Top 25% $5.7k (exactly $5,694)
Top 5% $579k (exactly $578,757)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 29
Announced 38
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 115% more developers than the period before.

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.

Economy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Economy, Card Battler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Game, Deckbuilding
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 17,743 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $810, 1 in 4 over $5.6k, 1 in 20 over $570k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorFair116 devs · median $22k · 125 announced
  2. + Football (Soccer)Fair21 devs · median $6.8k · 29 announced
  3. + ScienceFair39 devs · median $5.9k · 39 announced
  4. + MiningFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  5. + LootFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  6. + CollectathonFair125 devs · median $3.8k · 151 announced
  7. + God GameFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  8. + Auto BattlerFair59 devs · median $2.4k · 79 announced
  9. + IdlerFair441 devs · median $2.3k · 589 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair408 devs · median $2.2k · 612 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  12. + Strategy RPGFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced

All 161 pairs on the Economy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
Card Shop Simulator Multiplayer $11.99 1,609 82% 48k $579k (exactly $578,757) ShaneGame
NUTMEG! A Nostalgic Deckbuilding Football Manager $24.99 378 89% 11k $283k (exactly $283,387) Sumo Digital, Sumo Digital Academy
The Political Machine 2024 older $19.99 255 74% 7.7k $153k (exactly $152,924) Stardock Entertainment
Berserk B.I.T.S $6.99 667 81% 20k $140k (exactly $139,870) BerserkBoy Games
Urban Cards older $14.99 156 75% 4.7k $70k (exactly $70,153) Hues Games
Last Day of Rome older $11.99 162 49% 4.9k $58k (exactly $58,271) Hamsters
Konfronto $14.99 89 85% 2.7k $40k (exactly $40,023) Flaming Fowl Studios
One King Is Enough $10.99 27 77% 810 $8.9k (exactly $8,902) INVISIBLE GAMES
Poker TD $9.99 19 63% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) ViralCloud
Dynasty! $14.99 8 87% 240 $3.6k (exactly $3,598) newberry94005
Soulreign $7.99 12 83% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) Berraco
Orbit Economica $24.99 3 66% 90 $2.2k (exactly $2,249) Phoenix Smith

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