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Should I ship a Space Card Battler?
Card Battler + Space
Of 38 developers who shipped a Space 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.. 59 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×585 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 59 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,439) |
| Top 25% | $30k (exactly $29,680) |
| Top 5% | $367k (exactly $367,405) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 38 |
| Released games | 74 |
| Announced | 59 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, 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
- Space
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Card Battler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Card Game
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 2,505 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 23 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
Deep Sky Derelicts 2018 · $1.2M 
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection 2026 · $788k 
Tower Tactics: Liberation 2023 · $734k 
Down with the Ship 2026 · EA · $367k 
Zet Zillions 2024 · $216k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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 |
| | Down with the Ship | · EA | $14.99 | 817 93% | 25k | $367k (exactly $367,405) | Iron Anchor Games |
| | Zet Zillions | older | $9.99 | 722 87% | 22k | $216k (exactly $216,383) | OTA IMON Studios |
 | For The Warp | older | $14.99 | 434 72% | 13k | $195k (exactly $195,170) | Massive Galaxy Studios |
 | Holder of Place | $9.99 | 288 90% | 8.6k | $86k (exactly $86,314) | Ardent Fields | |
 | Stellar Orphans | $16.99 | 139 71% | 4.2k | $71k (exactly $70,848) | Artifex Parvus | |
 | Clonizer | $14.99 | 146 82% | 4.4k | $66k (exactly $65,656) | Juicy Plume | |
 | Souls of White Star | · EA older | $14.99 | 142 83% | 4.3k | $64k (exactly $63,857) | Souls of Star Game Lab. |
 | Hyperspace Deck Command | $19.99 | 91 95% | 2.7k | $55k (exactly $54,573) | Sleeper Games | |
 | ACE Strategy: Mecha Nova | $14.99 | 115 78% | 3.5k | $52k (exactly $51,716) | EMINA STUDIO | |
 | Takara Cards | $14.99 | 112 83% | 3.4k | $50k (exactly $50,366) | Post Mortem Pixels | |
 | Command Deck | · EA | $14.99 | 74 98% | 2.2k | $33k (exactly $33,278) | k-critical |
 | Break Siege | · EA | $14.99 | 66 84% | 2.0k | $30k (exactly $29,680) | FojoGames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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