Should I ship a PvP Card Game?
PvP + Card Game
Of 223 developers who shipped a paid PvP 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.. 5 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 519 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 519 games are announced against 149 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper, while revenue is down 35% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $718 (exactly $718) |
| Top 25% | $6.5k (exactly $6,501) |
| Top 5% | $187k (exactly $186,770) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 223 |
| Released games | 747 |
| Announced | 519 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 down 35% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 46%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP, Card Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Battler, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 29,048 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 149 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 519 games are announced against 149 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
Monster Train 2020 · $15M 
UNO 2017 · $13M 
The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M 
Armello 2015 · $8.3M 
Monster Train 2 2025 · $6.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Monster Train | older | $24.99 | 19,950 95% | 599k | $15M (exactly $14,956,515) | Shiny Shoe |
| | UNO | older | $9.99 | 42,019 70% | 1.3M | $13M (exactly $12,593,094) | Ubisoft Entertainment |
| | The Bazaar | $19.99 | 14,931 70% | 448k | $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) | Tempo | |
| | Armello | older | $24.99 | 11,013 82% | 330k | $8.3M (exactly $8,256,446) | League of Geeks |
| | Monster Train 2 | $24.99 | 8,647 95% | 259k | $6.5M (exactly $6,482,656) | Shiny Shoe | |
 | ROUNDS | older | $5.99 | 35,738 95% | 1.1M | $6.4M (exactly $6,422,119) | Landfall |
 | Wingspan | older | $19.99 | 9,807 94% | 294k | $5.9M (exactly $5,881,258) | Monster Couch |
 | Kingdoms Reborn | · EA older | $19.99 | 8,862 90% | 266k | $5.3M (exactly $5,314,541) | Earthshine |
 | Friends vs Friends | older | $9.99 | 10,860 83% | 326k | $3.3M (exactly $3,254,742) | Brainwash Gang |
 | Gordian Quest | older | $19.99 | 5,259 88% | 158k | $3.2M (exactly $3,153,822) | Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holding… (Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holdings Pte Ltd) |
 | Cardfight!! Vanguard Dear Days 2 | $69.99 | 631 67% | 19k | $1.3M (exactly $1,324,911) | FURYU Corporation, LANCARSE Ltd. | |
 | Yu-Gi-Oh! EARLY DAYS COLLECTION | $49.99 | 444 76% | 13k | $666k (exactly $665,867) | Digital Eclipse | |
 | Card-en-Ciel | $24.99 | 856 90% | 26k | $642k (exactly $641,743) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. | |
 | Supercar Collection Simulator | $12.99 | 1,528 85% | 46k | $595k (exactly $595,462) | Kiki Games | |
 | Clank! | $22.99 | 542 92% | 16k | $374k (exactly $373,817) | Dire Wolf | |
 | HEART of CROWN Online | $29.99 | 412 84% | 12k | $371k (exactly $370,676) | illuCalab, FLIPFLOPs, quziralab. | |
 | Youtubers Life 3 | $19.99 | 468 50% | 14k | $281k (exactly $280,660) | UPLAY Online | |
 | Anime Shop Simulator ✨ | $14.99 | 589 73% | 18k | $265k (exactly $264,873) | One More Time |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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