Games › Card Game › Card Game + Magic
Should I ship a Magic Card Game?
Card Game + Magic
Of 211 developers who shipped a Magic 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.. 378 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $960, ×2.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×455 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 378 games are announced against 133 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $955 (exactly $955) |
| Top 25% | $8.4k (exactly $8,432) |
| Top 5% | $216k (exactly $216,180) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 211 |
| Released games | 532 |
| Announced | 378 |
| 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 15% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
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, Card Battler
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 17,803 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 97 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 378 games are announced against 133 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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
Marvel's Midnight Suns 2022 · $31M 
Monster Train 2020 · $15M 
Monster Train 2 2025 · $6.5M 
Cultist Simulator 2018 · $6.3M 
Roguebook 2021 · $2.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Marvel's Midnight Suns | older | $59.99 | 17,060 82% | 512k | $31M (exactly $30,702,882) | Firaxis Games |
| | Monster Train | older | $24.99 | 19,950 95% | 599k | $15M (exactly $14,956,515) | Shiny Shoe |
| | Monster Train 2 | $24.99 | 8,647 95% | 259k | $6.5M (exactly $6,482,656) | Shiny Shoe | |
| | Cultist Simulator | older | $19.99 | 10,496 82% | 315k | $6.3M (exactly $6,294,451) | Weather Factory |
| | Roguebook | older | $24.99 | 3,446 84% | 103k | $2.6M (exactly $2,583,466) | Abrakam Entertainment SA |
 | SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech | older | $24.99 | 1,953 87% | 59k | $1.5M (exactly $1,464,164) | Image & Form Games |
 | Spirit Island | older | $24.99 | 1,545 91% | 46k | $1.2M (exactly $1,158,286) | Handelabra Games Inc. |
 | Yao-Guai Hunter | $16.99 | 2,082 83% | 62k | $1.1M (exactly $1,061,195) | MyACG Studio | |
 | Warriors of the Nile | older | $12.99 | 2,412 79% | 72k | $940k (exactly $939,956) | Stove Studio |
 | SpellRogue | $19.99 | 1,566 86% | 47k | $939k (exactly $939,130) | Guidelight Games | |
 | Clank! | $22.99 | 542 92% | 16k | $374k (exactly $373,817) | Dire Wolf | |
 | Cubic Cosmos | $12.99 | 941 92% | 28k | $367k (exactly $366,708) | Inkstone Atelier | |
 | Beastro | $19.99 | 598 92% | 18k | $359k (exactly $358,621) | Timberline Studio | |
 | Witch's Apocalyptic Journey | $8.99 | 1,282 84% | 38k | $346k (exactly $345,755) | MeowAlive | |
 | Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party? | $24.99 | 448 88% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,866) | Sting | |
 | There Are No Orcs | $8.99 | 1,188 93% | 36k | $320k (exactly $320,404) | BaseTrade Studio | |
 | Pluto | $17.99 | 509 93% | 15k | $275k (exactly $274,707) | Siege Wizard Interactive |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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