Do I ship it?

Games › CRPG › CRPG + Card Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Card Battler CRPG?

CRPG + Card Battler

Only 15 developers shipped a Card Battler CRPG 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, Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 28 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $25k, ×17 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $780k, ×526 the market median. Revenue is up 205% on the market; 28 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 16.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 205% on the market, 28 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
CRPG + Card Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $269 → $4.3k → $20k → $55k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for CRPG + Card Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,169)
Median $25k (exactly $24,875)
Top 25% $173k (exactly $173,227)
Top 5% $788k (exactly $788,203)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 41
Announced 28
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $10.99

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 205% on the market, supply 300% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.

CRPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Card Battler
effort 3 / 10 · high · card rules plus simple encounter logic

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
CRPG, Card Battler
Price point
$10.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 3,205 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $25k, 1 in 4 over $170k, 1 in 20 over $780k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

CRPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $26k · 14 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair84 devs · median $2.4k · 95 announced
  3. + TabletopFair22 devs · median $1.9k · 26 announced
  4. + Traditional RoguelikeFair12 devs · median $1.9k · 13 announced
  5. + 2D PlatformerFair62 devs · median $1.2k · 76 announced
  6. + IncrementalLong shot32 devs · median $449 · 27 announced
  7. + FMVPoor odds16 devs · median $58k · 14 announced
  8. + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds26 devs · median $23k · 46 announced
  9. + SpacePoor odds11 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpPoor odds13 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  11. + Souls-likePoor odds12 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  12. + DeckbuildingPoor odds12 devs · median $19k · 27 announced

All 123 pairs on the CRPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Tainted Grail: Conquest 2021 · $4.6M Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection 2026 · $788k Shadowhand: RPG Card Game 2017 · $340k Fickle Card Legend 2026 · $238k Ancient Enemy 2020 · $197k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tainted Grail: Conquest older $19.99 7,589 90% 228k $4.6M (exactly $4,551,123) Questline
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection $39.99 657 96% 20k $788k (exactly $788,203) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Shadowhand: RPG Card Game older $16.99 668 82% 20k $340k (exactly $340,480) Grey Alien Games
Fickle Card Legend $7.99 992 67% 30k $238k (exactly $237,782) 偶尔不帅
Ancient Enemy older $16.99 386 89% 12k $197k (exactly $196,744) Grey Alien Games
All in Abyss: Judge the Fake $15.99 375 54% 11k $180k (exactly $179,888) ACQUIRE Corp., WSS playground
Shards of Order $9.99 578 90% 17k $173k (exactly $173,227) Fardust
TurboJoy $39.99 90 93% 2.7k $108k (exactly $107,973) TurboJo
Song's Fantasy $7.99 229 55% 6.9k $55k (exactly $54,891) 南十字座工作室
Voice of Belldona · EA $11.99 117 72% 3.5k $42k (exactly $42,085) StoryCropStudio
Claymores of the Lost Kingdom $9.99 83 67% 2.5k $25k (exactly $24,875) Ultaan Games
Brave × Junction $10.99 62 83% 1.9k $20k (exactly $20,441) Rideon,Inc., RideonJapan
Manic Magic Ciena's Desire $12.99 22 68% 660 $8.6k (exactly $8,573) Maidensoft

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.