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Should I ship a Mystery Card Game?
Card Game + Mystery
Of 60 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 142 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $930, ×2.0 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×379 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 142 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $932 (exactly $932) |
| Top 25% | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) |
| Top 5% | $180k (exactly $179,888) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 60 |
| Released games | 151 |
| Announced | 142 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 55% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Card Game; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Card Battler, Deckbuilding, Roguelike
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 4,519 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 142 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 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
WORLD OF HORROR 2023 · $5.4M 
Depersonalization 2024 · $3.6M 
Card Shark 2022 · $1.8M 
Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition 2018 · $1.6M 
Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp 2022 · $456k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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 |
| | Card Shark | older | $19.99 | 2,965 90% | 89k | $1.8M (exactly $1,778,110) | Nerial |
| | Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition | older | $16.99 | 3,096 88% | 93k | $1.6M (exactly $1,578,031) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
| | Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp | older | $19.99 | 761 62% | 23k | $456k (exactly $456,372) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. |
 | CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs | $4.99 | 2,752 96% | 83k | $412k (exactly $411,974) | Bastinus Rex | |
 | Iris and the Giant | older | $17.99 | 698 87% | 21k | $377k (exactly $376,711) | Louis Rigaud |
 | Sovereign Syndicate | older | $19.99 | 573 79% | 17k | $344k (exactly $343,628) | Crimson Herring Studios |
 | The Horror at Highrook | $19.99 | 461 90% | 14k | $276k (exactly $276,462) | Nullpointer Games | |
 | The Solitaire Conspiracy | older | $11.99 | 742 89% | 22k | $267k (exactly $266,897) | Bithell Games |
 | All in Abyss: Judge the Fake | $15.99 | 375 54% | 11k | $180k (exactly $179,888) | ACQUIRE Corp., WSS playground | |
 | the cabin game | · EA | $11.99 | 362 86% | 11k | $130k (exactly $130,211) | Twisted Corridor👻 |
 | Sanatorium - A Mental Asylum Simulator | $12.99 | 208 59% | 6.2k | $81k (exactly $81,058) | Zeitglas | |
 | THE SPIRIT LIFT | $19.99 | 118 94% | 3.5k | $71k (exactly $70,765) | prettysmart games | |
 | Echo Generation 2 | $24.99 | 41 73% | 1.2k | $31k (exactly $30,738) | Cococucumber | |
 | Vegangsters | $12.99 | 69 92% | 2.1k | $27k (exactly $26,889) | Poison Pill Games | |
 | Dreamcards | $9.99 | 82 98% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $24,575) | Soneka Games | |
 | Noir Lords | · EA | $7.99 | 51 96% | 1.5k | $12k (exactly $12,225) | Speed Trail Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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