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Should I ship a Modern-Day Card Game?
Card Game + Modern
Of 32 developers who shipped a Modern-Day 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.. 53 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×2.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $59; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×217 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 53 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $59 (exactly $59) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) |
| Top 25% | $7.1k (exactly $7,130) |
| Top 5% | $103k (exactly $103,116) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 68 |
| Announced | 53 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 65% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Battler, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $22.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $22.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 73% positive over 1,488 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $59. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cardfight!! Vanguard Dear Days | older | $69.99 | 1,186 76% | 36k | $2.5M (exactly $2,490,244) | FURYU Corporation, LANCARSE Ltd. |
| | Retirement Simulator | · EA older | $13.99 | 3,757 34% | 113k | $1.6M (exactly $1,576,813) | DoubleThink Studio |
| | Cardfight!! Vanguard Dear Days 2 | $69.99 | 631 67% | 19k | $1.3M (exactly $1,324,911) | FURYU Corporation, LANCARSE Ltd. | |
| | The Solitaire Conspiracy | older | $11.99 | 742 89% | 22k | $267k (exactly $266,897) | Bithell Games |
| | The Political Machine 2024 | older | $19.99 | 255 74% | 7.7k | $153k (exactly $152,924) | Stardock Entertainment |
| | A=B | older | $4.99 | 908 94% | 27k | $136k (exactly $135,928) | Artless Games |
| | Entertainment Simulator | $18.99 | 181 73% | 5.4k | $103k (exactly $103,116) | Grizzbera Studio | |
| | SEXOPHOBIA 🔞 | $14.99 | 168 78% | 5.0k | $76k (exactly $75,550) | Lewd Star | |
| | Yomi 2 | $19.99 | 104 92% | 3.1k | $62k (exactly $62,369) | Sirlin Games | |
| | Tokyo Valkyries | $22.99 | 87 75% | 2.6k | $60k (exactly $60,004) | qureate | |
| | Lunchbreak Tactics | $14.99 | 124 76% | 3.7k | $56k (exactly $55,763) | Borealys Games | |
| | 2 Fights in 2 Tight Spaces | · EA | $12.99 | 115 84% | 3.5k | $45k (exactly $44,816) | Ground Shatter |
| | Schoolgirl Card Pull Simulator | $6.99 | 34 61% | 1.0k | $7.1k (exactly $7,130) | Violet Soft | |
| | Feminization Device | $6.99 | 28 75% | 840 | $5.9k (exactly $5,872) | FT Girl Studio | |
| | okey.gg | · EA | $9.99 | 16 50% | 480 | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) | yilmaz.games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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