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Should I ship an Incremental Card Game?
Card Game + Incremental
Of 78 developers who shipped an Incremental 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.. 103 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 2 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $120 for a 2 / 10 build. 57 developers shipped in the last year and 103 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $359 (exactly $359) |
| Top 25% | $1.5k (exactly $1,525) |
| Top 5% | $30k (exactly $30,010) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 78 |
| Released games | 207 |
| Announced | 103 |
| 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 150% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Card Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data
- Incremental
- effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Systems
- Card Game, Incremental; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Idler, Deckbuilding, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.00 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.00 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 9,734 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 103 games are announced against 57 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
Book of Demons 2018 · $6.0M 
Tiny Pasture 2025 · $1.3M 
This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker 2025 · $320k 
Don Duality 2023 · $130k 
Replicat 2025 · $64k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Book of Demons | older | $24.99 | 8,010 91% | 240k | $6.0M (exactly $6,005,097) | Thing Trunk |
| | 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 | |
| | Don Duality | older | $14.99 | 288 59% | 8.6k | $130k (exactly $129,514) | Königsborgs |
| | Replicat | $9.99 | 213 99% | 6.4k | $64k (exactly $63,836) | Brainoid Games | |
 | FeeBay Simulator | $5.99 | 167 91% | 5.0k | $30k (exactly $30,010) | Lake Country Games | |
 | 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 | |
 | Chosen Garden | $9.99 | 90 93% | 2.7k | $27k (exactly $26,973) | Winter Cabin Games | |
 | Pay 2 Win: The World is Mine | $14.99 | 59 81% | 1.8k | $27k (exactly $26,532) | Patriots Division | |
 | FISHTOPIA | $8.99 | 70 87% | 2.1k | $19k (exactly $18,879) | BountyGames | |
 | 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.
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