Do I ship it?

Games › Card Battler › Card Battler + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Card Battler?

Card Battler + Inventory Management

Of 46 developers who shipped an Inventory Management 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, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.4k, ×7.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×773 the market median. Revenue is up 350% on the market; 78 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 350% on the market, 78 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Card Battler + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 46
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.6k → $6.8k → $779 → $479 → $22k → $12k (still earning) → $120 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Card Battler + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 46
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $3.4k (exactly $3,355)
Top 25% $40k (exactly $40,023)
Top 5% $367k (exactly $367,405)
Developers, 2 yr 46
Released games 69
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 350% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Inventory Management
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, Inventory Management; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Auto Battler
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
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 89% positive over 23,730 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $3.4k, 1 in 4 over $40k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 78 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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

Backpack Battles 2025 · $8.5M Backpack Hero 2023 · $4.5M Knightica 2025 · $511k Down with the Ship 2026 · EA · $367k Toy Smash Kaboom! 2025 · $231k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
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
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games
Down with the Ship · EA $14.99 817 93% 25k $367k (exactly $367,405) Iron Anchor Games
Toy Smash Kaboom! $13.99 550 84% 17k $231k (exactly $230,835) Free Particle
Turnbound $14.99 446 78% 13k $201k (exactly $200,566) 1TK
Apokerlypse $9.99 612 81% 18k $183k (exactly $183,416) Breaker Games
Moonsigil Atlas $19.99 261 81% 7.8k $157k (exactly $156,522) Snake Tower Games
Backpack Dungeon $3.99 656 87% 20k $79k (exactly $78,523) 夜喵
Valefor $14.99 133 66% 4.0k $60k (exactly $59,810) Valefor Ltd
Stash: A Card Looter $9.99 186 79% 5.6k $56k (exactly $55,744) WheeGaming

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