Do I ship it?

Games › Card Game › Card Game + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic Card Game?

Card Game + Futuristic

Of 54 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 108 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 $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×432 the market median. Revenue is up 200% on the market; 108 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 200% on the market, 108 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Card Game + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 54
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $22k → $30k → $18k → $449 → $120 → $5.4k → $225 (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Card Game + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 54
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $746 (exactly $746)
Top 25% $6.1k (exactly $6,110)
Top 5% $205k (exactly $204,982)
Developers, 2 yr 54
Released games 137
Announced 108
Effort 4 / 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 up 200% on the market, supply 20% more developers than 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.

Card Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data
Futuristic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Card Game; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Card Battler
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 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 $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 17,809 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $750, 1 in 4 over $6.1k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 7 in 10 of the 35 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 108 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Card Game with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SteampunkFair15 devs · median $7.6k · 18 announced
  2. + Immersive SimFair43 devs · median $3.6k · 43 announced
  3. + Inventory ManagementFair65 devs · median $1.6k · 86 announced
  4. + DogsFair11 devs · median $1.5k · 8 announced
  5. + MahjongFair28 devs · median $748 · 24 announced
  6. + Artificial IntelligenceFair40 devs · median $719 · 54 announced
  7. + GamblingFair126 devs · median $600 · 167 announced
  8. + Point & ClickFair62 devs · median $539 · 69 announced
  9. + Hidden ObjectFair17 devs · median $537 · 15 announced
  10. + Board GameFair293 devs · median $479 · 382 announced
  11. + PuzzleFair198 devs · median $479 · 206 announced
  12. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $18k · 48 announced

All 159 pairs on the Card Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M I Was a Teenage Exocolonist 2022 · $3.3M Dune: Imperium 2024 · $2.6M Terraformers 2023 · $1.8M Beneath Oresa 2023 · $841k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist older $24.99 4,443 96% 133k $3.3M (exactly $3,330,917) Northway Games
Dune: Imperium older $22.99 3,806 94% 114k $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) Dire Wolf
Terraformers older $19.99 3,031 88% 91k $1.8M (exactly $1,817,691) Asteroid Lab
Beneath Oresa older $24.99 1,122 78% 34k $841k (exactly $841,163) Broken Spear Inc.
The Solitaire Conspiracy older $11.99 742 89% 22k $267k (exactly $266,897) Bithell Games
Big Winner $12.99 550 82% 17k $214k (exactly $214,335) iFAction Studio
LUNA $12.99 526 78% 16k $205k (exactly $204,982) Hypnosis Lab, WorkNite Games
For The Warp older $14.99 434 72% 13k $195k (exactly $195,170) Massive Galaxy Studios
Starless Abyss $19.99 296 83% 8.9k $178k (exactly $177,511) Konafa Games
Anode Heart: Layer Null $15.99 227 91% 6.8k $109k (exactly $108,892) Stove Powered Games
Mineral Defense $14.99 220 90% 6.6k $99k (exactly $98,934) Corestone Games
Technotopia $4.99 599 86% 18k $90k (exactly $89,670) Yustas
Holder of Place $9.99 288 90% 8.6k $86k (exactly $86,314) Ardent Fields
Infinity: HexaDome Tactics $19.99 92 75% 2.8k $55k (exactly $55,172) Blindspot Games
Project Afterfall · EA $19.99 80 75% 2.4k $48k (exactly $47,976) MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio

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