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Should I ship a Card Game Tactical game?
Tactical + Card Game
Of 276 developers who shipped a Card Game Tactical 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.. 448 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×331 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 448 games are announced against 184 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $898 (exactly $898) |
| Top 25% | $9.6k (exactly $9,590) |
| Top 5% | $208k (exactly $208,096) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 276 |
| Released games | 609 |
| Announced | 448 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 85% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 21%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Tactical, Card Game; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Deckbuilding, Strategy, Roguelike
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 26,843 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 118 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 448 games are announced against 184 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Tactical with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Football (American)Strong odds
- + Mystery DungeonStrong odds
- + Dating SimFair
- + 6DOFFair
- + Word GameFair
- + TypingFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Dynamic NarrationFair
- + Farming SimFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
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 |
| | Gloomhaven | older | $34.99 | 13,628 82% | 409k | $14M (exactly $14,305,312) | Flaming Fowl Studios, Saber Interactive |
| | The Bazaar | $19.99 | 14,931 70% | 448k | $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) | Tempo | |
| | Across the Obelisk | older | $19.99 | 10,689 80% | 321k | $6.4M (exactly $6,410,193) | Dreamsite Games |
| | 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) |
| | Fights in Tight Spaces | older | $24.99 | 3,545 90% | 106k | $2.7M (exactly $2,657,686) | Ground Shatter |
| | Esports Godfather | older | $19.99 | 4,319 90% | 130k | $2.6M (exactly $2,590,104) | Asteroid Game Studio |
| | Cobalt Core | older | $19.99 | 4,067 95% | 122k | $2.4M (exactly $2,438,980) | Rocket Rat Games |
| | 天外武林 (Traveler of Wuxia) | older | $24.99 | 3,151 85% | 95k | $2.4M (exactly $2,362,305) | 香港商河洛互動娛樂股份有限公司 |
| | Cross Blitz | $22.99 | 1,557 74% | 47k | $1.1M (exactly $1,073,863) | Tako Boy Studios LLC | |
| | Commander Quest | $11.99 | 2,804 74% | 84k | $1.0M (exactly $1,008,599) | Flyway Games, Inc. | |
| | LONESTAR | $12.99 | 2,183 90% | 65k | $851k (exactly $850,715) | Math Tide | |
| | Death Howl | $19.99 | 1,301 92% | 39k | $780k (exactly $780,210) | The Outer Zone | |
| | Card-en-Ciel | $24.99 | 856 90% | 26k | $642k (exactly $641,743) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. | |
| | Knights in Tight Spaces | $19.99 | 831 69% | 25k | $498k (exactly $498,351) | Ground Shatter | |
| | Shroom and Gloom | · EA | $14.99 | 977 91% | 29k | $439k (exactly $439,357) | Team Lazerbeam |
| | None Shall Intrude | $14.99 | 934 73% | 28k | $420k (exactly $420,020) | Aeterna Ludi | |
| | Shadowveil: Legend of The Five Rings | $24.99 | 469 74% | 14k | $352k (exactly $351,609) | Palindrome Interactive |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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