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Should I ship a Card Game Simulation game?
Simulation + Card Game
Of 310 developers who shipped a Card Game Simulation 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.. 414 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $960, ×1.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×500 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 414 games are announced against 205 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $958 (exactly $958) |
| Top 25% | $19k (exactly $18,663) |
| Top 5% | $314k (exactly $313,756) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 310 |
| Released games | 755 |
| Announced | 414 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 40% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Card Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Simulation, Card Game; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Management
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.49 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.49 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 109,701 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 7 in 10 of the 161 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 414 games are announced against 205 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Simulation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomStrong odds
- + World War IFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + PinballFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + BirdsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + MusicFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
Comparable games
TCG Card Shop Simulator 2026 · $28M 
Tabletop Simulator 2015 · $28M 
Sultan's Game 2025 · $19M 
Stacklands 2022 · $7.0M 
Cultist Simulator 2018 · $6.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | TCG Card Shop Simulator | $19.99 | 47,357 96% | 1.4M | $28M (exactly $28,399,993) | OPNeon Games | |
| | Tabletop Simulator | older | $19.99 | 46,875 95% | 1.4M | $28M (exactly $28,110,937) | Berserk Games |
| | Sultan's Game | $24.99 | 25,061 93% | 752k | $19M (exactly $18,788,232) | Double Cross | |
| | Stacklands | older | $7.99 | 29,244 96% | 877k | $7.0M (exactly $7,009,787) | Sokpop Collective |
| | Cultist Simulator | older | $19.99 | 10,496 82% | 315k | $6.3M (exactly $6,294,451) | Weather Factory |
 | 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 |
 | Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist : Link Evolution | older | $39.99 | 3,905 82% | 117k | $4.7M (exactly $4,684,828) | Other Ocean Emeryville |
 | Gamble With Your Friends | $7.99 | 18,883 89% | 566k | $4.5M (exactly $4,526,255) | TEAM GWYF | |
 | I Was a Teenage Exocolonist | older | $24.99 | 4,443 96% | 133k | $3.3M (exactly $3,330,917) | Northway Games |
 | Tiny Pasture | $5.99 | 7,055 92% | 212k | $1.3M (exactly $1,267,784) | CaveLiquid | |
 | Menace from the Deep | $16.99 | 2,466 84% | 74k | $1.3M (exactly $1,256,920) | Flat Lab | |
 | Commander Quest | $11.99 | 2,804 74% | 84k | $1.0M (exactly $1,008,599) | Flyway Games, Inc. | |
 | Ballionaire | $12.34 | 2,398 85% | 72k | $888k (exactly $887,740) | newobject | |
 | As We Descend | · EA | $19.99 | 1,336 86% | 40k | $801k (exactly $801,199) | Box Dragon |
 | Card Survival: Fantasy Forest | · EA | $21.99 | 1,135 76% | 34k | $749k (exactly $748,760) | WinterSpring Games |
 | Deck of Haunts | $19.99 | 1,206 84% | 36k | $723k (exactly $723,238) | Mantis |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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