Games › Card Game › Card Game + Idler
Should I ship an Idler Card Game?
Card Game + Idler
Of 56 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 64 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 2 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $120 for a 2 / 10 build. 41 developers shipped in the last year and 64 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $359 (exactly $359) |
| Top 25% | $3.4k (exactly $3,352) |
| Top 5% | $54k (exactly $54,246) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 56 |
| Released games | 126 |
| Announced | 64 |
| Effort | 2 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 25% on the market, supply 155% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 34%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Systems
- Card Game, Idler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Incremental, Simulation, Strategy
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 10,169 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 64 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Card Game with a different second tag, 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
Retirement Simulator 2022 · EA · $1.6M 
Tiny Pasture 2025 · $1.3M 
This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker 2025 · $320k 
The Girl's Moving Castle 2025 · $54k 
All About Luck 2026 · $44k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Retirement Simulator | · EA older | $13.99 | 3,757 34% | 113k | $1.6M (exactly $1,576,813) | DoubleThink Studio |
| | Tiny Pasture | $5.99 | 7,055 92% | 212k | $1.3M (exactly $1,267,784) | CaveLiquid | |
| | This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker | $5.99 | 1,781 86% | 53k | $320k (exactly $320,046) | Mash | |
| | The Girl's Moving Castle | $9.99 | 181 88% | 5.4k | $54k (exactly $54,246) | Destined game Studio | |
| | All About Luck | $10.99 | 134 91% | 4.0k | $44k (exactly $44,180) | Flow Universe | |
 | CyberTD | older | $19.99 | 50 66% | 1.5k | $30k (exactly $29,985) | Clockwork Origins |
 | Idle Quest Simulator | $4.99 | 183 78% | 5.5k | $27k (exactly $27,395) | 所以然 | |
 | Pay 2 Win: The World is Mine | $14.99 | 59 81% | 1.8k | $27k (exactly $26,532) | Patriots Division | |
 | 希望之城 The City Of Hope | older | $6.99 | 126 68% | 3.8k | $26k (exactly $26,422) | 家里蹲工作室 |
 | Idle Taoist Mage Warrior | older | $4.99 | 128 85% | 3.8k | $19k (exactly $19,162) | okyakusama |
 | FISHTOPIA | $8.99 | 70 87% | 2.1k | $19k (exactly $18,879) | BountyGames | |
 | ENCOUNTER BAR | $0.99 | 590 78% | 18k | $18k (exactly $17,523) | 2R | |
 | Card Corner | $4.99 | 75 76% | 2.3k | $11k (exactly $11,228) | Conradical Games | |
 | BULK | $6.49 | 41 75% | 1.2k | $8.0k (exactly $7,983) | Carlos 'Monty' Montamarta |
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.