Games › Trading › Trading + Card Game
Should I ship a Trading Card Game?
Trading + Card Game
Only 16 developers shipped a paid Trading Card Game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, TCG Card Shop Simulator, made about 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. 47 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.7k, ×9.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $28M, ×59789 the market median. Revenue is up 2295% on the market; 47 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $540 (exactly $540) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.7k (exactly $4,672) |
| Top 25% | $80k (exactly $80,496) |
| Top 5% | $28M (exactly $28,399,993) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 46 |
| Announced | 47 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 up 2295% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 46%, 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
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Trading, Card Game; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Economy, Life Sim
- Price point
- $12.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 49,773 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Trading with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + MiningFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + FlightPoor odds
- + SportsPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + PhysicsPoor odds
- + DrivingPoor odds
- + LootPoor odds
Comparable games
TCG Card Shop Simulator 2026 · $28M 
Hundred Days - Winemaking Simulator 2021 · $774k 
Supercar Collection Simulator 2025 · $595k 
Entertainment Simulator 2026 · $103k 
Snow Ash 2026 · $80k | 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 | |
| | Hundred Days - Winemaking Simulator | older | $24.99 | 1,033 77% | 31k | $774k (exactly $774,440) | Broken Arms Games |
| | Supercar Collection Simulator | $12.99 | 1,528 85% | 46k | $595k (exactly $595,462) | Kiki Games | |
| | Entertainment Simulator | $18.99 | 181 73% | 5.4k | $103k (exactly $103,116) | Grizzbera Studio | |
| | Snow Ash | $14.99 | 179 73% | 5.4k | $80k (exactly $80,496) | Ember Studio | |
 | TCG Multiplayer Card Shop Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 198 54% | 5.9k | $77k (exactly $77,161) | Alkame Games |
 | Table Battle Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 85 74% | 2.6k | $33k (exactly $33,124) | Kiki Games |
 | FeeBay Simulator | $5.99 | 167 91% | 5.0k | $30k (exactly $30,010) | Lake Country Games | |
 | Mark Out! The Wrestling Card Game | older | $14.99 | 49 93% | 1.5k | $22k (exactly $22,035) | DIY Experiences LLC |
 | DAGURI: Gambling Apocalypse | older | $2.99 | 207 93% | 6.2k | $19k (exactly $18,568) | DakeCraft |
 | Monstrix TCG Card Shop | $9.99 | 34 55% | 1.0k | $10k (exactly $10,190) | Revolt Games | |
 | Crack it Up! | $5.99 | 26 88% | 780 | $4.7k (exactly $4,672) | Somnambulist Games | |
 | Trading Card Shop Simulator | $4.99 | 18 27% | 540 | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) | NOSTRA.GAMES |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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