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Should I ship a Magic Card Battler?
Card Battler + Magic
Of 175 developers who shipped a Magic 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.. 315 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 $1.1k, ×2.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $93k, ×196 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 315 games are announced against 119 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.1k (exactly $1,078) |
| Top 25% | $6.5k (exactly $6,501) |
| Top 5% | $93k (exactly $93,207) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 175 |
| Released games | 394 |
| Announced | 315 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Magic
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Card Battler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Game, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 11,079 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 70 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 315 games are announced against 119 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Card Battler with a different setting or mood, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Marvel's Midnight Suns | older | $59.99 | 17,060 82% | 512k | $31M (exactly $30,702,882) | Firaxis Games |
| | Monster Train | older | $24.99 | 19,950 95% | 599k | $15M (exactly $14,956,515) | Shiny Shoe |
| | Roguebook | older | $24.99 | 3,446 84% | 103k | $2.6M (exactly $2,583,466) | Abrakam Entertainment SA |
| | SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech | older | $24.99 | 1,953 87% | 59k | $1.5M (exactly $1,464,164) | Image & Form Games |
| | Yao-Guai Hunter | $16.99 | 2,082 83% | 62k | $1.1M (exactly $1,061,195) | MyACG Studio | |
| | SpellRogue | $19.99 | 1,566 86% | 47k | $939k (exactly $939,130) | Guidelight Games | |
| | Oaken Tower | · EA | $9.99 | 3,024 89% | 91k | $906k (exactly $906,293) | Bocary Studios |
| | Succubus★Connect! | older | $24.99 | 637 78% | 19k | $478k (exactly $477,559) | capture1 |
| | Arcanium: Rise of Akhan | older | $19.99 | 670 81% | 20k | $402k (exactly $401,799) | Supercombo, Inc. |
| | Cubic Cosmos | $12.99 | 941 92% | 28k | $367k (exactly $366,708) | Inkstone Atelier | |
| | Witch's Apocalyptic Journey | $8.99 | 1,282 84% | 38k | $346k (exactly $345,755) | MeowAlive | |
| | Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party? | $24.99 | 448 88% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,866) | Sting | |
| | 神树残响(Echoes of the Divine Tree) | $11.99 | 601 94% | 18k | $216k (exactly $216,180) | Seventeen horns | |
| | Legacy of Defense | $7.99 | 545 72% | 16k | $131k (exactly $130,636) | Enter the Game Studios | |
| | YGGDRA REFRAIN | $9.99 | 311 79% | 9.3k | $93k (exactly $93,207) | BD | |
| | 魔女黏糊笔记 | $9.99 | 279 80% | 8.4k | $84k (exactly $83,616) | 墨元素 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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