Games › RTS › RTS + Card Battler
Should I ship a Card Battler RTS?
RTS + Card Battler
Of 37 developers who shipped a Card Battler RTS 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.. 51 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180. 51 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper, while revenue is down 45% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $4.6k (exactly $4,554) |
| Top 5% | $88k (exactly $88,137) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 37 |
| Released games | 85 |
| Announced | 51 |
| Effort | 7 / 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 down 45% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 27%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- RTS
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Card Battler
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card rules plus simple encounter logic
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- RTS, Card Battler; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Game, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 1,967 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RTS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Outbreak SimFair
- + HorrorFair
- + NavalFair
- + TabletopFair
- + SportsLong shot
- + PuzzleLong shot
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
Comparable games
Big Bia 2022 · $583k 
Knightica 2025 · $511k 
Necronator: Dead Wrong 2020 · $138k 
Ironclad Tactics 2013 · $107k 
Moon Corona 2026 · EA · $88k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Big Bia | older | $14.99 | 1,296 69% | 39k | $583k (exactly $582,811) | Pixel House Games |
| | Knightica | $14.99 | 1,136 74% | 34k | $511k (exactly $510,859) | Mad Mango Games | |
| | Necronator: Dead Wrong | older | $12.99 | 353 67% | 11k | $138k (exactly $137,564) | Toge Productions |
| | Ironclad Tactics | older | $14.99 | 237 75% | 7.1k | $107k (exactly $106,579) | Zachtronics |
| | Moon Corona | · EA | $13.99 | 210 82% | 6.3k | $88k (exactly $88,137) | 不倒龙工作室, Budaolong Studio |
 | Forest Heroes | $9.99 | 278 83% | 8.3k | $83k (exactly $83,317) | Hoochoo Game Studios | |
 | Golem Gates | older | $24.99 | 96 83% | 2.9k | $72k (exactly $71,971) | Laser Guided Games, LLC |
 | Aurora Defense | · EA | $12.99 | 98 60% | 2.9k | $38k (exactly $38,191) | Moka Games |
 | 中国战疫 | older | $16.99 | 64 76% | 1.9k | $33k (exactly $32,621) | 不吃蛋黄 |
 | 九州风流 | · EA older | $17.99 | 38 60% | 1.1k | $21k (exactly $20,509) | GB |
 | It's time, Your Majesty | $6.99 | 77 64% | 2.3k | $16k (exactly $16,147) | String studio | |
 | Warena | $9.99 | 42 52% | 1.3k | $13k (exactly $12,587) | Part Time Monkey | |
 | Sun Halo | $5.99 | 60 85% | 1.8k | $11k (exactly $10,782) | Renka | |
 | One King Is Enough | $10.99 | 27 77% | 810 | $8.9k (exactly $8,902) | INVISIBLE GAMES | |
 | Soul•Apocalypto | $11.99 | 20 80% | 600 | $7.2k (exactly $7,194) | 卜乙冈(Ploygon) | |
 | Cat Guardian | $7.99 | 19 84% | 570 | $4.6k (exactly $4,554) | Yaeegy |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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