Do I ship it?

Games › Card Battler › Card Battler + Grid-Based Movement

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Card Battler?

Card Battler + Grid-Based Movement

Of 26 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement 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.. 78 more are announced, ×7.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×6.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $640k, ×1351 the market median. Revenue is up 145% on the market; 78 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 145% on the market, 78 announced, ×7.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Card Battler + Grid-Based Movement
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.8k → $34k → $23k → $3.1k → $1.2k → $3.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Card Battler + Grid-Based Movement: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $598 (exactly $598)
Median $3.1k (exactly $3,148)
Top 25% $32k (exactly $32,346)
Top 5% $642k (exactly $641,743)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 58
Announced 78
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 up 145% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Grid-Based Movement
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, Grid-Based Movement; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Card Game, Deckbuilding, Roguelite
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 20,304 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $3.1k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $640k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 78 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Card Battler with a different second tag, 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

Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors 2026 · $5.6M Card-en-Ciel 2024 · $642k Abalon: Roguelike Tactics CCG 2023 · $533k For The Warp 2022 · $195k Pawnbarian 2021 · $135k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors $9.99 18,587 96% 558k $5.6M (exactly $5,570,524) poncle, Nosebleed Interactive
Card-en-Ciel $24.99 856 90% 26k $642k (exactly $641,743) INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
Abalon: Roguelike Tactics CCG older $29.99 592 95% 18k $533k (exactly $532,622) D20Studios
For The Warp older $14.99 434 72% 13k $195k (exactly $195,170) Massive Galaxy Studios
Pawnbarian older $9.99 450 91% 14k $135k (exactly $134,865) j4nw
Master of Piece · EA $14.99 197 86% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) I M GAME, I M fine
Takara Cards $14.99 112 83% 3.4k $50k (exactly $50,366) Post Mortem Pixels
Obsidian Prince older $14.99 103 77% 3.1k $46k (exactly $46,319) Unleash The Giraffe
DUNGEON ARTIFACT · EA older $9.99 153 95% 4.6k $46k (exactly $45,854) いとこん
Meteorfall: Rustbowl Rumble $14.99 93 91% 2.8k $42k (exactly $41,822) Slothwerks
Touhou Rinrinki ~ Crafts of the Lucky Beast · EA $9.99 117 92% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,065) Starcrow Dev
Gold and Graves $5.99 180 86% 5.4k $32k (exactly $32,346) Yoon
Maze Keeper $8.99 84 47% 2.5k $23k (exactly $22,655) Spaceward Games
Hunt the Pale Gods $14.99 36 94% 1.1k $16k (exactly $16,189) Nick Papageorgiou
Vinecard $9.99 42 95% 1.3k $13k (exactly $12,587) SiriusStudio

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