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Should I ship an Incremental Card Battler?
Card Battler + Incremental
Of 30 developers who shipped an Incremental 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.. 42 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×275 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 42 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $418 (exactly $418) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) |
| Top 25% | $2.8k (exactly $2,792) |
| Top 5% | $131k (exactly $130,636) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 30 |
| Released games | 62 |
| Announced | 42 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 down 55% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 26%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Incremental
- effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Card Battler, Incremental; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Game, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 1,746 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Card Battler with a different second tag, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Berserk B.I.T.S | $6.99 | 667 81% | 20k | $140k (exactly $139,870) | BerserkBoy Games | |
| | Legacy of Defense | $7.99 | 545 72% | 16k | $131k (exactly $130,636) | Enter the Game Studios | |
| | Iron Carnage | $39.99 | 91 91% | 2.7k | $109k (exactly $109,173) | Andrew Monteiro B | |
| | Idle Quest Simulator | $4.99 | 183 78% | 5.5k | $27k (exactly $27,395) | 所以然 | |
| | Chosen Garden | $9.99 | 90 93% | 2.7k | $27k (exactly $26,973) | Winter Cabin Games | |
| | Telltale Texas Hold ‘Em | older | $0.99 | 235 79% | 7.1k | $7.0k (exactly $6,980) | Telltale |
| | The Midnight Crimes | $10.99 | 20 60% | 600 | $6.6k (exactly $6,594) | DeadlyCrow Games | |
| | Idle Banshee Alliance | older | $4.99 | 41 68% | 1.2k | $6.1k (exactly $6,138) | okyakusama |
| | Cat Guardian | $7.99 | 19 84% | 570 | $4.6k (exactly $4,554) | Yaeegy | |
| | Citadel Siege | $0.99 | 94 93% | 2.8k | $2.8k (exactly $2,792) | · | |
| | Pacremental | $3.99 | 23 100% | 690 | $2.8k (exactly $2,753) | Erocol | |
| | Casino Simulator | · EA | $5.99 | 14 21% | 420 | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) | Game Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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