Games › Card Battler › Card Battler + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi Card Battler?
Card Battler + Sci-fi
Of 94 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 152 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×457 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 152 games are announced against 56 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $25k (exactly $24,689) |
| Top 5% | $217k (exactly $217,249) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 94 |
| Released games | 194 |
| Announced | 152 |
| 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 55% on the market, supply 45% 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
- Sci-fi
- 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; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Card Game, Deckbuilding, Strategy
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 20,303 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 50 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 152 games are announced against 56 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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
The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M 
Griftlands 2021 · $8.1M 
NEOVERSE 2020 · $1.7M 
Deep Sky Derelicts 2018 · $1.2M 
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection 2026 · $788k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Bazaar | $19.99 | 14,931 70% | 448k | $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) | Tempo | |
| | Griftlands | older | $19.99 | 13,440 93% | 403k | $8.1M (exactly $8,059,968) | Klei Entertainment |
| | NEOVERSE | older | $19.99 | 2,882 84% | 86k | $1.7M (exactly $1,728,335) | Tinogames Inc. |
| | Deep Sky Derelicts | older | $19.99 | 1,985 73% | 60k | $1.2M (exactly $1,190,404) | Snowhound Games |
| | Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection | $39.99 | 657 96% | 20k | $788k (exactly $788,203) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
 | Tower Tactics: Liberation | older | $19.99 | 1,224 88% | 37k | $734k (exactly $734,033) | asraworks |
 | Ascension: Deckbuilding Game | older | $9.99 | 1,435 88% | 43k | $430k (exactly $430,070) | Playdek, Inc. |
 | Down with the Ship | · EA | $14.99 | 817 93% | 25k | $367k (exactly $367,405) | Iron Anchor Games |
 | One Turn Kill | $7.99 | 1,478 95% | 44k | $354k (exactly $354,277) | DenDen | |
 | Nitro Kid | older | $19.99 | 410 89% | 12k | $246k (exactly $245,877) | Wildboy Studios |
 | Villages & Dungeons | $6.99 | 1,036 91% | 31k | $217k (exactly $217,249) | CaCaFrog Studio | |
 | Battle Suit Aces | $19.99 | 347 90% | 10k | $208k (exactly $208,096) | Trinket Studios | |
 | All in Abyss: Judge the Fake | $15.99 | 375 54% | 11k | $180k (exactly $179,888) | ACQUIRE Corp., WSS playground | |
 | Into The Grid | · EA | $14.99 | 195 83% | 5.9k | $88k (exactly $87,692) | Flatline Studios |
 | Holder of Place | $9.99 | 288 90% | 8.6k | $86k (exactly $86,314) | Ardent Fields | |
 | Snow Ash | $14.99 | 179 73% | 5.4k | $80k (exactly $80,496) | Ember Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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