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Should I ship an Interactive Fiction Card Game?
Card Game + Interactive Fiction
Of 30 developers who shipped an Interactive Fiction 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, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 2 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×13 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×9050 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 61 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) |
| Top 25% | $8.6k (exactly $8,573) |
| Top 5% | $1.1M (exactly $1,076,926) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 30 |
| Released games | 74 |
| Announced | 61 |
| Effort | 2 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 85% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, 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
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Systems
- Card Game, Interactive Fiction; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Adventure, Card Battler
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 11,696 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
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
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist 2022 · $3.3M 
School Days 2026 · $2.7M 
Card Shark 2022 · $1.8M 
Retirement Simulator 2022 · EA · $1.6M 
Forbidden Solitaire 2026 · $1.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | I Was a Teenage Exocolonist | older | $24.99 | 4,443 96% | 133k | $3.3M (exactly $3,330,917) | Northway Games |
| | School Days | $14.99 | 6,023 77% | 181k | $2.7M (exactly $2,708,543) | 白雨工作室 | |
| | Card Shark | older | $19.99 | 2,965 90% | 89k | $1.8M (exactly $1,778,110) | Nerial |
| | Retirement Simulator | · EA older | $13.99 | 3,757 34% | 113k | $1.6M (exactly $1,576,813) | DoubleThink Studio |
| | Forbidden Solitaire | $15.99 | 2,245 96% | 67k | $1.1M (exactly $1,076,926) | Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertai… (Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertainment) | |
 | Foretales | older | $19.99 | 779 87% | 23k | $467k (exactly $467,166) | Alkemi |
 | CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs | $4.99 | 2,752 96% | 83k | $412k (exactly $411,974) | Bastinus Rex | |
 | Crown Gambit | $17.99 | 428 94% | 13k | $231k (exactly $230,992) | WILD WITS GAMES | |
 | Love of Magic | older | $14.99 | 417 88% | 13k | $188k (exactly $187,525) | Droid Productions |
 | Sumire | older | $5.99 | 887 95% | 27k | $159k (exactly $159,394) | GameTomo Team |
 | Lust Poker Club | $7.99 | 89 78% | 2.7k | $21k (exactly $21,333) | Cutie Booty | |
 | OMEGA 6 The Triangle Stars | $14.99 | 37 91% | 1.1k | $17k (exactly $16,639) | Takaya Imamura, Happymeal, Pleocene | |
 | Star Dream Journey | $8.99 | 55 60% | 1.7k | $15k (exactly $14,834) | 明星志愿真人模拟器 | |
 | Manic Magic Ciena's Desire | $12.99 | 22 68% | 660 | $8.6k (exactly $8,573) | Maidensoft | |
 | SIRE | $4.99 | 39 100% | 1.2k | $5.8k (exactly $5,838) | heartcase | |
 | Seven Seas Jewels 2 Collector's Edition | $15.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $2.9k (exactly $2,878) | Anawiki Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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