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Should I ship a Word Game Card Game?
Card Game + Word Game
Of 23 developers who shipped a Word Game Card 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.. 30 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 2 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×14 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×2638 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 30 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $419 (exactly $419) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,617) |
| Top 25% | $23k (exactly $23,377) |
| Top 5% | $314k (exactly $313,891) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 47 |
| Announced | 30 |
| Effort | 2 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 80% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 23%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Systems
- Card Game, Word Game; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Deckbuilding, Choices Matter, Roguelike
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 7,202 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 7 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Card Game with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SteampunkFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + DogsFair
- + MahjongFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + Board GameFair
- + PuzzleFair
- + Dating SimPoor odds
Comparable games
Retirement Simulator 2022 · EA · $1.6M 
Matchmaking Inc. 2025 · $1.6M 
Cursed Words: The Word Game That Isn't 2026 · $314k 
Wordatro! 2025 · $120k 
RiffTrax: The Game 2022 · $66k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Retirement Simulator | · EA older | $13.99 | 3,757 34% | 113k | $1.6M (exactly $1,576,813) | DoubleThink Studio |
| | Matchmaking Inc. | $8.99 | 5,773 87% | 173k | $1.6M (exactly $1,556,978) | Wave Games | |
| | Cursed Words: The Word Game That Isn't | $14.99 | 698 95% | 21k | $314k (exactly $313,891) | Buried Things | |
| | Wordatro! | $9.99 | 401 85% | 12k | $120k (exactly $120,180) | Le Poulet | |
| | RiffTrax: The Game | older | $9.99 | 219 91% | 6.6k | $66k (exactly $65,634) | Wide Right Interactive, Mark Zorn, Kurt… (Wide Right Interactive, Mark Zorn, Kurt Wojda) |
 | Beyond Words | $14.99 | 102 84% | 3.1k | $46k (exactly $45,869) | MindFuel Games | |
 | TypInc. | $9.99 | 102 74% | 3.1k | $31k (exactly $30,569) | Game Game Games | |
 | Heads Up! Phones Down Edition | older | $39.99 | 25 64% | 750 | $30k (exactly $29,992) | Aspyr |
 | Birdigo - bird word game | $9.99 | 78 84% | 2.3k | $23k (exactly $23,377) | John August, Corey Martin | |
 | Words Can Kill | older | $7.99 | 92 70% | 2.8k | $22k (exactly $22,052) | Typing Monkey |
 | Yesterday's News | $11.99 | 18 83% | 540 | $6.5k (exactly $6,475) | Rooibos Games | |
 | 云玩家:口口 | $3.99 | 20 75% | 600 | $2.4k (exactly $2,394) | 猫不在 / Cat404 | |
 | Words Of Power | $15.00 | 5 80% | 150 | $2.3k (exactly $2,250) | Tsuperion | |
 | Play Together: Party Games | $14.99 | 5 60% | 150 | $2.2k (exactly $2,248) | Plot Interactive |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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