Do I ship it?

GamesLife SimLife Sim + Card Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Card Battler Life Sim?

Life Sim + Card Battler

Only 16 developers shipped a Card Battler Life Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Office Life, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 21 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $16k, ×35 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×2178 the market median. Revenue is up 360% on the market; 21 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 34.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 360% on the market, 21 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Life Sim + Card Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $8.8k → $24k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Life Sim + Card Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $897 (exactly $897)
Median $16k (exactly $16,452)
Top 25% $55k (exactly $54,891)
Top 5% $1.0M (exactly $1,034,482)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 30
Announced 21
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 360% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Life Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Card Battler
effort 3 / 10 · high · card rules plus simple encounter logic

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Life Sim, Card Battler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Deckbuilding, Simulation, Strategy
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, 3D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 4,440 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $16k, 1 in 4 over $54k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 21 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Life Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds38 devs · median $54k · 21 announced
  2. + MinigamesStrong odds20 devs · median $11k · 19 announced
  3. + MusicStrong odds28 devs · median $9.2k · 20 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair144 devs · median $19k · 153 announced
  5. + Football (Soccer)Fair10 devs · median $10k · 16 announced
  6. + FaithFair11 devs · median $9.4k · 13 announced
  7. + Artificial IntelligenceFair92 devs · median $7.3k · 121 announced
  8. + GamblingFair28 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  9. + DemonsFair16 devs · median $2.4k · 22 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair162 devs · median $2.4k · 219 announced
  11. + LogicFair70 devs · median $1.5k · 74 announced
  12. + ZombiesFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 34 announced

All 173 pairs on the Life Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Moonstone Island older $19.99 4,063 84% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,436,581) Studio Supersoft
Retirement Simulator · EA older $13.99 3,757 34% 113k $1.6M (exactly $1,576,813) DoubleThink Studio
Office Life $19.99 1,725 88% 52k $1.0M (exactly $1,034,482) LeiYun Games
Card Shop Simulator Multiplayer $11.99 1,609 82% 48k $579k (exactly $578,757) ShaneGame
Shin chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation The Endless Seven-Day Journey older $29.99 455 81% 14k $409k (exactly $409,364) Neos Corporation
Youtubers Life 3 $19.99 468 50% 14k $281k (exactly $280,660) UPLAY Online
Artist Life Simulator older $19.99 173 79% 5.2k $104k (exactly $103,748) Interactive Fate
Dragon Creek older $14.99 133 87% 4.0k $60k (exactly $59,810)
Song's Fantasy $7.99 229 55% 6.9k $55k (exactly $54,891) 南十字座工作室
Football Rising:Zero to Hero $14.99 54 90% 1.6k $24k (exactly $24,284) Den Spade
魔哆魔哆 Modo Modo $7.99 94 95% 2.8k $23k (exactly $22,532) HAJI HEAVY INDUSTIRES
The Last Craftsman $9.99 74 94% 2.2k $22k (exactly $22,178) AuraTummyache
宠物街金鱼姬 Pet Street Story $8.99 61 98% 1.8k $16k (exactly $16,452) 小鲤应援会
Dictator Simulator: Gradnar $4.99 84 97% 2.5k $13k (exactly $12,575) GortagonGame
Punch to Glory $6.99 42 92% 1.3k $8.8k (exactly $8,807) Musa GUNGOR

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