Games › Trading › Trading + Card Battler
Should I ship a Trading Card Battler?
Trading + Card Battler
Only 12 developers shipped a paid Trading Card Battler in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Out of the Park Baseball 26, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 4 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 23 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.9k, ×6.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×2586 the market median. Revenue is up 1600% on the market; 23 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.9k (exactly $2,876) |
| Top 25% | $579k (exactly $578,757) |
| Top 5% | $1.2M (exactly $1,228,254) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 25 |
| Announced | 23 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $14.99 |
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 1600% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 40%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Trading
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Card Battler
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card rules plus simple encounter logic
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Trading, Card Battler
- Price point
- $14.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 3,455 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 6 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Trading with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + MiningFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + FlightPoor odds
- + SportsPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + PhysicsPoor odds
- + DrivingPoor odds
- + LootPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Out of the Park Baseball 26 | $49.99 | 819 82% | 25k | $1.2M (exactly $1,228,254) | Out of the Park Developments | |
| | Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection | $39.99 | 657 96% | 20k | $788k (exactly $788,203) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
| | Card Shop Simulator Multiplayer | $11.99 | 1,609 82% | 48k | $579k (exactly $578,757) | ShaneGame | |
| | Snow Ash | $14.99 | 179 73% | 5.4k | $80k (exactly $80,496) | Ember Studio | |
| | Apocalypse: The Last RV | · EA | $4.99 | 159 68% | 4.8k | $24k (exactly $23,802) | 光年切片工作室 |
| | Mark Out! The Wrestling Card Game | older | $14.99 | 49 93% | 1.5k | $22k (exactly $22,035) | DIY Experiences LLC |
| | Forsaken Portals | older | $18.99 | 24 75% | 720 | $14k (exactly $13,673) | Pottgames |
| | Heck Deck | older | $3.99 | 64 92% | 1.9k | $7.7k (exactly $7,661) | torcado |
| | Soulreign | $7.99 | 12 83% | 360 | $2.9k (exactly $2,876) | Berraco | |
| | Casino Simulator | · EA | $5.99 | 14 21% | 420 | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) | Game Studios |
| | Orbit Economica | $24.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $2.2k (exactly $2,249) | Phoenix Smith | |
| | GuildMestar | $9.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $599 (exactly $599) | OffPath LLC | |
| | CardAttack-Gabee's Roads | $17.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $540 (exactly $540) | Flyingstone |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.