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Should I ship an Online Co-Op Card Battler?
Online Co-Op + Card Battler
Of 21 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op 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.. 97 more are announced, ×5.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.4k, ×2.2 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×231 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 97 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.4k (exactly $3,358) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $14,469) |
| Top 5% | $346k (exactly $345,755) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 71 |
| Announced | 97 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 325% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 37%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Online Co-Op
- effort 8 / 10 · low · netcode, lobbies and state sync across machines
- Card Battler
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card rules plus simple encounter logic
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op, Card Battler; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Card Game, Strategy, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cartoony, First-Person, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 6,882 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 4 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 97 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Online Co-Op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Bullet HeavenStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + TypingFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Across the Obelisk 2022 · $6.4M 
HELLCARD 2024 · $2.5M 
Thea 2: The Shattering 2019 · $1.4M 
Guilty as Sock! 2025 · $798k 
The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game - Definitive Edition 2019 · $720k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Across the Obelisk | older | $19.99 | 10,689 80% | 321k | $6.4M (exactly $6,410,193) | Dreamsite Games |
| | HELLCARD | older | $24.99 | 3,368 86% | 101k | $2.5M (exactly $2,524,990) | Thing Trunk |
| | Thea 2: The Shattering | older | $24.99 | 1,892 79% | 57k | $1.4M (exactly $1,418,432) | MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio |
| | Guilty as Sock! | $5.50 | 4,836 89% | 145k | $798k (exactly $797,940) | Demon Max | |
| | The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game - Definitive Edition | older | $19.99 | 1,201 76% | 36k | $720k (exactly $720,240) | · |
 | Sentinels of the Multiverse | older | $9.99 | 1,201 92% | 36k | $360k (exactly $359,940) | Handelabra Games Inc. |
 | 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 | |
 | Unmatched: Digital Edition | older | $22.99 | 274 74% | 8.2k | $189k (exactly $188,978) | Dire Wolf |
 | Exploding Kittens® 2 | older | $12.49 | 447 75% | 13k | $167k (exactly $167,491) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
 | Fairtravel Battle CCG | · EA | $14.99 | 52 98% | 1.6k | $23k (exactly $23,384) | Flaming Torch Games |
 | Flawed Tactics | $9.99 | 59 89% | 1.8k | $18k (exactly $17,682) | Flawed Games | |
 | Cheater's Table | · EA | $6.99 | 69 95% | 2.1k | $14k (exactly $14,469) | Lagari |
 | Duo Quest | $14.99 | 26 65% | 780 | $12k (exactly $11,692) | 1+1 Studios | |
 | DEMONS | $4.99 | 42 71% | 1.3k | $6.3k (exactly $6,287) | Andrew Fender, Alastair Headden | |
 | DEATHMARK | · EA | $4.99 | 35 91% | 1.1k | $5.2k (exactly $5,240) | Wired Creations Studio |
 | TRUCO BAR | $4.99 | 33 81% | 990 | $4.9k (exactly $4,940) | LoboAnarquista, João Rafael Refatti Sil… (LoboAnarquista, João Rafael Refatti Silva) |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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