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Should I ship a Card Game Strategy RPG?
Strategy RPG + Card Game
Of 120 developers who shipped a Card Game Strategy RPG 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.. 215 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $350k, ×560 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 215 games are announced against 76 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,439) |
| Top 25% | $24k (exactly $23,834) |
| Top 5% | $352k (exactly $351,609) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 120 |
| Released games | 296 |
| Announced | 215 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 23%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Strategy RPG
- 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
- Strategy RPG, Card Game; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Battler, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 9,656 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 59 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 215 games are announced against 76 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SportsFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + EconomyFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + ConspiracyFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Marvel's Midnight Suns | older | $59.99 | 17,060 82% | 512k | $31M (exactly $30,702,882) | Firaxis Games |
| | Loop Hero | older | $14.99 | 33,816 92% | 1.0M | $15M (exactly $15,207,055) | Four Quarters |
| | Black Book | older | $24.99 | 5,306 93% | 159k | $4.0M (exactly $3,977,908) | Morteshka |
| | Depersonalization | older | $19.99 | 6,041 92% | 181k | $3.6M (exactly $3,622,788) | MeowNature |
| | BOOK OF HOURS | older | $24.99 | 4,129 89% | 124k | $3.1M (exactly $3,095,511) | Weather Factory |
| | Shogun Showdown | older | $14.99 | 6,197 95% | 186k | $2.8M (exactly $2,786,791) | Roboatino |
| | Touhou: Lost Branch of Legend | · EA older | $29.99 | 2,036 92% | 61k | $1.8M (exactly $1,831,789) | Alioth Studio |
| | Retirement Simulator | · EA older | $13.99 | 3,757 34% | 113k | $1.6M (exactly $1,576,813) | DoubleThink Studio |
| | Thea 2: The Shattering | older | $24.99 | 1,892 79% | 57k | $1.4M (exactly $1,418,432) | MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio |
| | Aces & Adventures | older | $19.99 | 2,220 89% | 67k | $1.3M (exactly $1,331,334) | Triple.B.Titles |
| | Out Of Hands | $17.99 | 1,322 93% | 40k | $713k (exactly $713,483) | Game River | |
| | Destiny of Immortal | · EA | $11.99 | 1,763 80% | 53k | $634k (exactly $634,151) | LeiYun Games |
| | Dream of Corpse Lady | $9.99 | 2,115 93% | 63k | $634k (exactly $633,866) | HT3 Studio | |
| | Rune Coliseum | · EA | $18.99 | 886 79% | 27k | $505k (exactly $504,754) | Rafale Software |
| | Knights in Tight Spaces | $19.99 | 831 69% | 25k | $498k (exactly $498,351) | Ground Shatter | |
| | Shadowveil: Legend of The Five Rings | $24.99 | 469 74% | 14k | $352k (exactly $351,609) | Palindrome Interactive | |
| | Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party? | $24.99 | 448 88% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,866) | Sting | |
| | Big Winner | $12.99 | 550 82% | 17k | $214k (exactly $214,335) | iFAction Studio | |
| | LUNA | $12.99 | 526 78% | 16k | $205k (exactly $204,982) | Hypnosis Lab, WorkNite Games | |
| | Three Kingdoms: The Blood Moon | $8.99 | 746 91% | 22k | $201k (exactly $201,196) | Kygua Tech |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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