Do I ship it?

Games › Card Battler › Card Battler + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Card Battler Tower Defense?

Card Battler + Tower Defense

Of 63 developers who shipped a Card Battler Tower Defense 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.. 90 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×2.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×727 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 90 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 90 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Card Battler + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 63
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $18k → $3.0k → $899 → $2.2k → $449 (still earning) → $539 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Card Battler + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 63
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,077)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,992)
Top 5% $345k (exactly $345,370)
Developers, 2 yr 63
Released games 113
Announced 90
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.99

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 80% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Card Battler
effort 3 / 10 · high · card rules plus simple encounter logic
Tower Defense
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Card Battler, Tower Defense; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Roguelike
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 5,570 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 35 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 90 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Card Battler with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + ArcadeFair68 devs · median $1.9k · 75 announced
  2. + Bullet HellFair24 devs · median $1.2k · 22 announced
  3. + GamblingFair64 devs · median $1.0k · 77 announced
  4. + 2D FighterFair10 devs · median $1.0k · 11 announced
  5. + ZombiesFair17 devs · median $839 · 22 announced
  6. + Point & ClickFair25 devs · median $629 · 34 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair35 devs · median $628 · 33 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair43 devs · median $449 · 57 announced
  9. + Party GameFair28 devs · median $449 · 35 announced
  10. + SolitaireLong shot77 devs · median $299 · 79 announced
  11. + Asynchronous MultiplayerPoor odds33 devs · median $31k · 56 announced
  12. + CRPGPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 28 announced

All 125 pairs on the Card Battler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Ratropolis 2020 · $2.8M Overdungeon 2019 · $1.3M Tower Tactics: Liberation 2023 · $734k Deck of Haunts 2025 · $723k Resist the succubus—The end of the female Knight 2024 · $698k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ratropolis older $17.99 5,187 87% 156k $2.8M (exactly $2,799,424) Cassel Games
Overdungeon older $14.99 2,854 79% 86k $1.3M (exactly $1,283,444) Pocketpair
Tower Tactics: Liberation older $19.99 1,224 88% 37k $734k (exactly $734,033) asraworks
Deck of Haunts $19.99 1,206 84% 36k $723k (exactly $723,238) Mantis
Resist the succubus—The end of the female Knight older $16.99 1,370 74% 41k $698k (exactly $698,289) BoRoBoRoGame
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games
Cubic Cosmos $12.99 941 92% 28k $367k (exactly $366,708) Inkstone Atelier
Epic Auto Towers · EA $14.99 768 70% 23k $345k (exactly $345,370) Aleksandr Golovkin
WARCANA older $16.99 443 62% 13k $226k (exactly $225,797) 1000 Orks
CD 2: Trap Master older $14.99 330 79% 9.9k $148k (exactly $148,401) ACE ENTERTAINMENT
Hive Blight · EA $12.49 367 94% 11k $138k (exactly $137,515) OptizOnion
Legacy of Defense $7.99 545 72% 16k $131k (exactly $130,636) Enter the Game Studios
Forest Heroes $9.99 278 83% 8.3k $83k (exactly $83,317) Hoochoo Game Studios
Aurora Defense · EA $12.99 98 60% 2.9k $38k (exactly $38,191) Moka Games
Claws Of Power $6.99 170 80% 5.1k $36k (exactly $35,649) 蒜苗
Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch $14.99 61 70% 1.8k $27k (exactly $27,432) Dvora Studio Co. Ltd.

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.