Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Card Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Card Game?

Combat + Card Game

Of 149 developers who shipped a Combat Card Game 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.. 282 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×173 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 282 games are announced against 77 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 282 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Card Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 149
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $4.6k → $1.9k → $3.7k → $598 → $1.0k → $475 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Card Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 149
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,775)
Top 5% $109k (exactly $108,892)
Developers, 2 yr 149
Released games 317
Announced 282
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 10% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Card Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat, Card Game; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Card Battler
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
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 84% positive over 39,300 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $600, 1 in 4 over $3.7k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 87 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 282 games are announced against 77 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Neon White 2022 · $13M The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors 2026 · $5.6M Friends vs Friends 2023 · $3.3M Dune: Imperium 2024 · $2.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Neon White older $24.99 17,259 97% 518k $13M (exactly $12,939,072) Angel Matrix
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors $9.99 18,587 96% 558k $5.6M (exactly $5,570,524) poncle, Nosebleed Interactive
Friends vs Friends older $9.99 10,860 83% 326k $3.3M (exactly $3,254,742) Brainwash Gang
Dune: Imperium older $22.99 3,806 94% 114k $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) Dire Wolf
Meme Mayhem older $16.99 4,849 74% 145k $2.5M (exactly $2,471,535) Cr3 Studio
Cobalt Core older $19.99 4,067 95% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,438,980) Rocket Rat Games
Aces & Adventures older $19.99 2,220 89% 67k $1.3M (exactly $1,331,334) Triple.B.Titles
Border Pioneer $14.99 1,675 86% 50k $753k (exactly $753,248) Yahzj Games
Card-en-Ciel $24.99 856 90% 26k $642k (exactly $641,743) INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
Half-Demon Shinobi $10.99 1,242 89% 37k $409k (exactly $409,487) 樹懶叫工作室, 紳士吉娃, Maker製造機
Epic Auto Towers · EA $14.99 768 70% 23k $345k (exactly $345,370) Aleksandr Golovkin
The Royal Writ $14.99 425 80% 13k $191k (exactly $191,122) Save Sloth Studios
Anode Heart: Layer Null $15.99 227 91% 6.8k $109k (exactly $108,892) Stove Powered Games
YGGDRA REFRAIN $9.99 311 79% 9.3k $93k (exactly $93,207) BD
Forest Heroes $9.99 278 83% 8.3k $83k (exactly $83,317) Hoochoo Game Studios

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