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Should I ship a Lovecraftian Card Game?
Card Game + Lovecraftian
Of 23 developers who shipped a Lovecraftian 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.. 50 more are announced, ×5.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $16k, ×34 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $990k, ×2089 the market median. Revenue is up 210% on the market; 50 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) |
|---|---|
| Median | $16k (exactly $16,189) |
| Top 25% | $178k (exactly $177,511) |
| Top 5% | $992k (exactly $992,499) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 47 |
| Announced | 50 |
| 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 210% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Lovecraftian
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Card Game; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Roguelike
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 6,898 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.6k. 6 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.0 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cultist Simulator | older | $19.99 | 10,496 82% | 315k | $6.3M (exactly $6,294,451) | Weather Factory |
| | WORLD OF HORROR | older | $19.99 | 8,991 89% | 270k | $5.4M (exactly $5,391,903) | panstasz |
| | Depersonalization | older | $19.99 | 6,041 92% | 181k | $3.6M (exactly $3,622,788) | MeowNature |
| | Menace from the Deep | $16.99 | 2,466 84% | 74k | $1.3M (exactly $1,256,920) | Flat Lab | |
| | Decktamer | $15.99 | 2,069 86% | 62k | $992k (exactly $992,499) | Horizon Edge | |
| | The Horror at Highrook | $19.99 | 461 90% | 14k | $276k (exactly $276,462) | Nullpointer Games | |
| | Roots Devour | $14.99 | 479 68% | 14k | $215k (exactly $215,406) | Rewinding Games | |
| | Railroads & Catacombs | $19.99 | 358 73% | 11k | $215k (exactly $214,693) | MadRails | |
| | Endless Voyage / 无尽航线 | older | $16.99 | 407 65% | 12k | $207k (exactly $207,448) | Dalaran Game Studio |
| | Starless Abyss | $19.99 | 296 83% | 8.9k | $178k (exactly $177,511) | Konafa Games | |
| | Hunter's Moon: A Sovereign Syndicate Adventure | $19.99 | 205 83% | 6.2k | $123k (exactly $122,938) | Crimson Herring Studios | |
| | Gods vs Horrors | $14.99 | 254 75% | 7.6k | $114k (exactly $114,224) | Oriol Cosp Games | |
| | BLOODLETTER | $15.49 | 229 79% | 6.9k | $106k (exactly $106,416) | ALDAMAMI GAMES | |
| | Fortune Seller | $6.99 | 81 85% | 2.4k | $17k (exactly $16,986) | Kiwick |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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