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Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Card Game?
Card Game + Dark Fantasy
Of 177 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy 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.. 408 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $960, ×1.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×393 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 408 games are announced against 139 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $955 (exactly $955) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $12,592) |
| Top 5% | $247k (exactly $246,566) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 177 |
| Released games | 372 |
| Announced | 408 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 250% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Card Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data
- Dark Fantasy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Card Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Card Battler
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 5 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 $7.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 34,958 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 6 in 10 of the 48 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 408 games are announced against 139 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Card Game with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SteampunkFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + DogsFair
- + MahjongFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + Board GameFair
- + PuzzleFair
- + Dating SimPoor odds
Comparable games
Sultan's Game 2025 · $19M 
Loop Hero 2021 · $15M 
Gloomhaven 2021 · $14M 
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales 2018 · $9.4M 
Armello 2015 · $8.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sultan's Game | $24.99 | 25,061 93% | 752k | $19M (exactly $18,788,232) | Double Cross | |
| | Loop Hero | older | $14.99 | 33,816 92% | 1.0M | $15M (exactly $15,207,055) | Four Quarters |
| | Gloomhaven | older | $34.99 | 13,628 82% | 409k | $14M (exactly $14,305,312) | Flaming Fowl Studios, Saber Interactive |
| | Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales | older | $19.99 | 15,665 89% | 470k | $9.4M (exactly $9,394,300) | CD PROJEKT RED |
| | Armello | older | $24.99 | 11,013 82% | 330k | $8.3M (exactly $8,256,446) | League of Geeks |
 | Book of Demons | older | $24.99 | 8,010 91% | 240k | $6.0M (exactly $6,005,097) | Thing Trunk |
 | Tainted Grail: Conquest | older | $19.99 | 7,589 90% | 228k | $4.6M (exactly $4,551,123) | Questline |
 | Black Book | older | $24.99 | 5,306 93% | 159k | $4.0M (exactly $3,977,908) | Morteshka |
 | Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles | older | $24.99 | 3,011 92% | 90k | $2.3M (exactly $2,257,347) | Little Leo Games |
 | Knock on the Coffin Lid | older | $24.99 | 2,727 82% | 82k | $2.0M (exactly $2,044,432) | RedBoon |
 | Forbidden Solitaire | $15.99 | 2,245 96% | 67k | $1.1M (exactly $1,076,926) | Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertai… (Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertainment) | |
 | SpellRogue | $19.99 | 1,566 86% | 47k | $939k (exactly $939,130) | Guidelight Games | |
 | Death Howl | $19.99 | 1,301 92% | 39k | $780k (exactly $780,210) | The Outer Zone | |
 | Shroom and Gloom | · EA | $14.99 | 977 91% | 29k | $439k (exactly $439,357) | Team Lazerbeam |
 | Trainee Death Simulator | $5.99 | 1,746 92% | 52k | $314k (exactly $313,756) | Bone Nail | |
 | The Horror at Highrook | $19.99 | 461 90% | 14k | $276k (exactly $276,462) | Nullpointer Games | |
 | Pluto | $17.99 | 509 93% | 15k | $275k (exactly $274,707) | Siege Wizard Interactive | |
 | 9th Dawn Remake | $15.99 | 514 86% | 15k | $247k (exactly $246,566) | Valorware | |
 | Shards of Order | $9.99 | 578 90% | 17k | $173k (exactly $173,227) | Fardust |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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