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Should I ship a Co-op Trading Card Game?
Co-op + Trading Card Game
Only 11 developers shipped a paid Co-op 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, Anime 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. 25 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.9k, ×3.3 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.9k; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×177 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 25 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $1.9k (exactly $1,888) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.9k (exactly $4,940) |
| Top 25% | $23k (exactly $23,384) |
| Top 5% | $265k (exactly $264,873) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 11 |
| Released games | 39 |
| Announced | 25 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 55% on the market, supply 165% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 49%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Co-op
- effort 7 / 10 · low · co-op on Steam means online sessions and drop-in sync
- Trading Card Game
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Co-op, Trading Card Game
- Price point
- $8.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 68% positive over 1,110 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.9k. 4 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Co-op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SuperheroFair
- + Boomer ShooterFair
- + GamblingFair
- + NinjaFair
- + TypingLong shot
- + Word GameLong shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
Comparable games
Tabletop Simulator 2015 · $28M 
Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions 2020 · $9.1M 
Anime Shop Simulator ✨ 2026 · $265k 
Aeon's End 2019 · $197k 
TCG Multiplayer Card Shop Simulator 2025 · EA · $77k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Tabletop Simulator | older | $19.99 | 46,875 95% | 1.4M | $28M (exactly $28,110,937) | Berserk Games |
| | Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions | older | $59.99 | 5,072 73% | 152k | $9.1M (exactly $9,128,078) | TAMSOFT CORPORATION |
| | Anime Shop Simulator ✨ | $14.99 | 589 73% | 18k | $265k (exactly $264,873) | One More Time | |
| | Aeon's End | older | $14.99 | 438 82% | 13k | $197k (exactly $196,969) | Handelabra Games Inc. |
| | TCG Multiplayer Card Shop Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 198 54% | 5.9k | $77k (exactly $77,161) | Alkame Games |
 | Tabletop Playground | · EA older | $14.99 | 121 79% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $54,414) | Plasticity Studios |
 | CyberTD | older | $19.99 | 50 66% | 1.5k | $30k (exactly $29,985) | Clockwork Origins |
 | Fairtravel Battle CCG | · EA | $14.99 | 52 98% | 1.6k | $23k (exactly $23,384) | Flaming Torch Games |
 | Volleying | older | $1.99 | 358 70% | 11k | $21k (exactly $21,373) | Gestalt Development Studio |
 | Bomb Royale | $4.99 | 127 62% | 3.8k | $19k (exactly $19,012) | Onur Doğan | |
 | Dig for TCG Cards With Your Friends | $6.99 | 77 44% | 2.3k | $16k (exactly $16,147) | 3 Rare Devs | |
 | TRUCO BAR | $4.99 | 33 81% | 990 | $4.9k (exactly $4,940) | LoboAnarquista, João Rafael Refatti Sil… (LoboAnarquista, João Rafael Refatti Silva) | |
 | CyCall | · EA | $12.99 | 8 75% | 240 | $3.1k (exactly $3,118) | PzGames |
 | The Ultimate Collector | · EA | $8.99 | 7 42% | 210 | $1.9k (exactly $1,888) | StariStudios |
 | DraQu: Elemental Awakening | · EA | $7.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $719 (exactly $719) | ALTF4 Games |
 | STAB! | · EA | $0.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $475 (exactly $475) | mightyraccoon! Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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