Do I ship it?

Games › Card Battler › Card Battler + Female Protagonist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Female-Led Card Battler?

Card Battler + Female Protagonist

Of 88 developers who shipped a Female-Led 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.. 133 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $6.6k, ×14 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $640k, ×1364 the market median. Revenue is up 105% on the market; 133 games are announced against 58 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 13.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 105% on the market, 133 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Card Battler + Female Protagonist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 88
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.1k → $4.7k → $46k → $2.5k → $13k → $8.6k → $22k (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Card Battler + Female Protagonist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 88
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Median $6.6k (exactly $6,587)
Top 25% $58k (exactly $58,142)
Top 5% $648k (exactly $648,051)
Developers, 2 yr 88
Released games 206
Announced 133
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $9.99

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 105% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Card Battler
effort 3 / 10 · high · card rules plus simple encounter logic
Female Protagonist
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Card Battler; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Card Game, Strategy, Deckbuilding
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.90 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.90 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 35,158 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $6.6k, 1 in 4 over $58k, 1 in 20 over $640k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 7 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 133 games are announced against 58 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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

Chrono Ark 2024 · $9.5M Backpack Battles 2025 · $8.5M Backpack Hero 2023 · $4.5M Black Book 2021 · $4.0M One Step From Eden 2020 · $3.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Chrono Ark older $24.99 12,623 90% 379k $9.5M (exactly $9,463,463) Al Fine
Backpack Battles $14.99 18,933 91% 568k $8.5M (exactly $8,514,170) PlayWithFurcifer
Backpack Hero older $19.99 7,423 85% 223k $4.5M (exactly $4,451,573) Jaspel
Black Book older $24.99 5,306 93% 159k $4.0M (exactly $3,977,908) Morteshka
One Step From Eden older $19.99 6,039 94% 181k $3.6M (exactly $3,621,588) Thomas Moon Kang
StarVaders $24.99 3,760 97% 113k $2.8M (exactly $2,818,872) Pengonauts
NEOVERSE older $19.99 2,882 84% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,728,335) Tinogames Inc.
Alina of the Arena older $14.99 3,577 91% 107k $1.6M (exactly $1,608,577) PINIX
Cardfight!! Vanguard Dear Days 2 $69.99 631 67% 19k $1.3M (exactly $1,324,911) FURYU Corporation, LANCARSE Ltd.
Last Evil older $9.99 3,559 94% 107k $1.1M (exactly $1,066,632) Flametorch
Death Howl $19.99 1,301 92% 39k $780k (exactly $780,210) The Outer Zone
Kabuto Park $4.99 4,329 99% 130k $648k (exactly $648,051) Doot
Dream of Corpse Lady $9.99 2,115 93% 63k $634k (exactly $633,866) HT3 Studio
STARDUST: Wish of Witch $24.99 728 81% 22k $546k (exactly $545,782) Kniv Studio Co., Ltd.
One Turn Kill $7.99 1,478 95% 44k $354k (exactly $354,277) DenDen
Witch's Apocalyptic Journey $8.99 1,282 84% 38k $346k (exactly $345,755) MeowAlive
神树残响（Echoes of the Divine Tree） $11.99 601 94% 18k $216k (exactly $216,180) Seventeen horns

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