Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Card Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Card Game Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Card Game

Of 170 developers who shipped a Card Game Resource Management 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.. 291 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×470 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 291 games are announced against 123 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 291 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Card Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 170
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $19k → $29k → $2.2k → $4.7k → $13k → $4.9k → $1.2k (still earning) → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Card Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 170
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Top 25% $26k (exactly $26,258)
Top 5% $223k (exactly $223,374)
Developers, 2 yr 170
Released games 289
Announced 291
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 75% on the market, supply 160% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Card Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Resource Management, Card Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Roguelike
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 32,310 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $26k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 7 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 291 games are announced against 123 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Resource Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Loop Hero 2021 · $15M Cultist Simulator 2018 · $6.3M Wingspan 2020 · $5.9M Kingdoms Reborn 2020 · EA · $5.3M Potionomics 2022 · $5.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Loop Hero older $14.99 33,816 92% 1.0M $15M (exactly $15,207,055) Four Quarters
Cultist Simulator older $19.99 10,496 82% 315k $6.3M (exactly $6,294,451) Weather Factory
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
Potionomics older $24.99 6,973 90% 209k $5.2M (exactly $5,227,658) Voracious Games
Gamble With Your Friends $7.99 18,883 89% 566k $4.5M (exactly $4,526,255) TEAM GWYF
BOOK OF HOURS older $24.99 4,129 89% 124k $3.1M (exactly $3,095,511) Weather Factory
School Days $14.99 6,023 77% 181k $2.7M (exactly $2,708,543) 白雨工作室
Card Survival: Tropical Island older $24.99 2,962 94% 89k $2.2M (exactly $2,220,611) WinterSpring Games
Thea: The Awakening older $19.99 3,318 87% 100k $2.0M (exactly $1,989,805) MuHa Games
Border Pioneer $14.99 1,675 86% 50k $753k (exactly $753,248) Yahzj Games
Ways of Alchemy $17.99 674 74% 20k $364k (exactly $363,758) RocketBrush Games
This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker $5.99 1,781 86% 53k $320k (exactly $320,046) Mash
Card Cultivation $14.99 694 70% 21k $312k (exactly $312,092) DarkIndex
Aotenjo: Infinite Hands · EA $9.99 958 87% 29k $287k (exactly $287,113) XO Cat
SkyBrew: Entropic Strategist $17.99 522 75% 16k $282k (exactly $281,723) ATRIC Games
Cube Chaos $11.99 621 95% 19k $223k (exactly $223,374) Wunarg
Roots Devour $14.99 479 68% 14k $215k (exactly $215,406) Rewinding Games

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.