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Should I ship a Dystopian Card Game?
Card Game + Dystopian
Of 26 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 61 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×429 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 61 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) |
| Top 25% | $27k (exactly $26,989) |
| Top 5% | $204k (exactly $203,898) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 54 |
| Announced | 61 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 down 95% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, 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
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Card Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Battler, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 3,350 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 6 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 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
Dune: Imperium 2024 · $2.6M 
As We Descend 2025 · EA · $801k 
Shambles: Sons of Apocalypse 2025 · $204k 
Aeon's End 2019 · $197k 
Dead-End City Blues OD Edition 2024 · $166k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dune: Imperium | older | $22.99 | 3,806 94% | 114k | $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) | Dire Wolf |
| | As We Descend | · EA | $19.99 | 1,336 86% | 40k | $801k (exactly $801,199) | Box Dragon |
| | Shambles: Sons of Apocalypse | $19.99 | 340 77% | 10k | $204k (exactly $203,898) | EXLIX | |
| | Aeon's End | older | $14.99 | 438 82% | 13k | $197k (exactly $196,969) | Handelabra Games Inc. |
| | Dead-End City Blues OD Edition | $8.99 | 615 86% | 18k | $166k (exactly $165,866) | AleCubicSoft | |
 | Deepest Chamber: Resurrection | older | $12.99 | 419 79% | 13k | $163k (exactly $163,284) | Balcony Softworks |
 | System Crash | older | $14.99 | 250 83% | 7.5k | $112k (exactly $112,425) | Rogue Moon Studios |
 | Power Chord | older | $19.99 | 170 71% | 5.1k | $102k (exactly $101,949) | Big Blue Bubble |
 | Technotopia | $4.99 | 599 86% | 18k | $90k (exactly $89,670) | Yustas | |
 | 长明火计划 Project: Eternal Flame | older | $19.99 | 77 88% | 2.3k | $46k (exactly $46,177) | 唐扬Studio |
 | Vanguard Exiles | · EA | $19.99 | 61 81% | 1.8k | $37k (exactly $36,582) | The Tea Division |
 | Choice of Life: Samosbor | $4.99 | 236 87% | 7.1k | $35k (exactly $35,329) | Blazing Planet Studio | |
 | Vestiges: Fallen Tribes | $24.99 | 36 80% | 1.1k | $27k (exactly $26,989) | WanadevStudio | |
 | Dictator Simulator: Gradnar | $4.99 | 84 97% | 2.5k | $13k (exactly $12,575) | GortagonGame | |
 | Ender theater | $9.99 | 28 50% | 840 | $8.4k (exactly $8,392) | FeatherRain | |
 | Hostile Takeover | $11.99 | 15 93% | 450 | $5.4k (exactly $5,396) | Whispering Spider Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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