Do I ship it?

GamesCard BattlerCard Battler + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic Card Battler?

Card Battler + Futuristic

Of 43 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 81 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 $330, ×0.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 81 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper, while revenue is up 395% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 395% on the market, 81 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Card Battler + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 43
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $95k → $449 → $598 → $10k → $150 (still earning) → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Card Battler + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $330 (exactly $330)
Top 25% $2.6k (exactly $2,601)
Top 5% $205k (exactly $204,982)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 93
Announced 81
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.49

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 395% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 23%, 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
Futuristic
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; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Game, Deckbuilding
Price point
$7.49 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.49.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 16,696 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $330, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 23 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
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
Anode Heart older $17.99 438 90% 13k $236k (exactly $236,389) Stove Powered Games
Big Winner $12.99 550 82% 17k $214k (exactly $214,335) iFAction Studio
LUNA $12.99 526 78% 16k $205k (exactly $204,982) Hypnosis Lab, WorkNite Games
For The Warp older $14.99 434 72% 13k $195k (exactly $195,170) Massive Galaxy Studios
System Crash older $14.99 250 83% 7.5k $112k (exactly $112,425) Rogue Moon Studios
Anode Heart: Layer Null $15.99 227 91% 6.8k $109k (exactly $108,892) Stove Powered Games
Theseus Protocol older $9.99 317 65% 9.5k $95k (exactly $95,005) YueTang(Xiamen)
Holder of Place $9.99 288 90% 8.6k $86k (exactly $86,314) Ardent Fields
Furry Cyberfucker older $6.99 273 69% 8.2k $57k (exactly $57,248) Furry Tails
Tuggowar $7.99 103 91% 3.1k $25k (exactly $24,689) Tension Games
High Frontier 4 All $19.99 17 17% 510 $10k (exactly $10,195) Johan Brandt, Stewart Wan, Erik Lund, N… (Johan Brandt, Stewart Wan, Erik Lund, Nicolas Mondino, Theo Sandén, Leonard Wahlund, Alexander Wahrenstedt, Carl Nordholm, Erico Pizarro Gutierrez, Natdanai Puthom, Olivia Bernardsson, Dag Petersen, Sam Abou-Gabal, Pablo Schmidt, Spilios Kehagias, Aphiwit Lekphet, Zongying Liu, Markus Vikmanis, Kamila Kuzmiuk, Edvin Skogsholm Sanne, Janina Carvajal Ibacache, Adam Kallberg, Ricky Truong, Carl Forden, Robin Christopher Öhman Tejre, Malte Gundhus, Mathias Novakovic, Christopher Vedlund, Ivo Öjhage, Benjamin Grissom, Linus Granskog)
Curtain Call: Chronicles of Heroes $5.99 34 67% 1.0k $6.1k (exactly $6,110) Life Trust Foundation
Manacaster · EA $24.99 5 60% 150 $3.7k (exactly $3,748) Manacaster Games
Vox Populi: USA 2024 $7.99 15 80% 450 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Velsin

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