Games › Card Game › Card Game + Dragons
Should I ship a Dragon Card Game?
Card Game + Dragons
Of 26 developers who shipped a Dragon 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.. 52 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $89; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×595 the market median. Revenue is up 1410% on the market; 52 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $89 (exactly $89) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $12,587) |
| Top 5% | $374k (exactly $373,817) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 71 |
| Announced | 52 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 1410% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 25%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Card Game; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Battler, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $22.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $22.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 2,305 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $89. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Munchkin Digital | older | $14.99 | 1,352 76% | 41k | $608k (exactly $607,994) | Dire Wolf |
| | None Shall Intrude | $14.99 | 934 73% | 28k | $420k (exactly $420,020) | Aeterna Ludi | |
| | Clank! | $22.99 | 542 92% | 16k | $374k (exactly $373,817) | Dire Wolf | |
| | Ruff Ghanor | older | $19.99 | 435 85% | 13k | $261k (exactly $260,869) | DX Gameworks |
| | Erannorth Chronicles | older | $20.99 | 407 85% | 12k | $256k (exactly $256,288) | Spyridon Thalassinos |
| | Mamon King | $12.99 | 603 90% | 18k | $235k (exactly $234,989) | LiTMUS Co., Ltd. | |
| | Kyvir: Rebirth | · EA older | $7.99 | 361 76% | 11k | $87k (exactly $86,532) | Dawnblaze Entertainment |
| | Dragon Front: Adventures | $19.99 | 58 89% | 1.7k | $35k (exactly $34,783) | High Voltage Software, Inc. | |
| | ARISEN - Chronicles of Var'Nagal | · EA older | $15.99 | 66 78% | 2.0k | $32k (exactly $31,660) | Maratus, Homecoming Studio |
| | Spellsword Cards: Origins | older | $9.99 | 60 60% | 1.8k | $18k (exactly $17,982) | One Up Plus Entertainment |
| | Ariokan™ - create your cards, break the Meta | $29.99 | 18 94% | 540 | $16k (exactly $16,195) | Fatum Games SL | |
| | Auto Battle Girl | $9.99 | 52 80% | 1.6k | $16k (exactly $15,584) | Mutual Fun Studio | |
| | Warena | $9.99 | 42 52% | 1.3k | $13k (exactly $12,587) | Part Time Monkey | |
| | King of Tokyo - Richard Garfield | $19.99 | 16 68% | 480 | $9.6k (exactly $9,595) | Breakfirst | |
| | Rustic Defense | $9.99 | 28 96% | 840 | $8.4k (exactly $8,392) | Lasot Interactive | |
| | Crouching Tiger Hidden Hanafuda | $10.99 | 12 91% | 360 | $4.0k (exactly $3,956) | Garuru Software labs inc. |
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.