Do I ship it?

Games › Trading Card Game › Trading Card Game + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Trading Card Game?

Trading Card Game + Idler

Only 14 developers shipped a paid Idler 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, FISHTOPIA, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 4 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 17 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 6 developers shipped in the last year and 17 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 17 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Trading Card Game + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $418 → $450 → $719 → $269 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Trading Card Game + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $450 (exactly $450)
Top 25% $1.4k (exactly $1,438)
Top 5% $19k (exactly $18,879)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 49
Announced 17
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 40% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 45%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Trading Card Game
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Trading Card Game, Idler
Price point
$3.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 69% positive over 128 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $450, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $18k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 17 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Trading Card Game with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Immersive SimStrong odds18 devs · median $30k · 13 announced
  2. + SandboxFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  3. + Inventory ManagementFair21 devs · median $1.5k · 28 announced
  4. + Procedural GenerationPoor odds10 devs · median $10k · 26 announced
  5. + TradingPoor odds16 devs · median $10k · 36 announced
  6. + Life SimPoor odds18 devs · median $10k · 21 announced
  7. + CollectathonPoor odds26 devs · median $6.3k · 41 announced
  8. + HistoricalPoor odds15 devs · median $6.1k · 25 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds11 devs · median $4.9k · 25 announced
  10. + Auto BattlerPoor odds22 devs · median $3.4k · 27 announced
  11. + Roguelike DeckbuilderPoor odds24 devs · median $3.4k · 38 announced
  12. + Online Co-OpPoor odds13 devs · median $3.1k · 36 announced

All 69 pairs on the Trading Card Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

CyberTD 2023 · $30k FISHTOPIA 2025 · $19k Royal Merchant 2023 · $11k The Idle 2024 · $2.7k Idle Colors 2025 · $2.4k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
CyberTD older $19.99 50 66% 1.5k $30k (exactly $29,985) Clockwork Origins
FISHTOPIA $8.99 70 87% 2.1k $19k (exactly $18,879) BountyGames
Royal Merchant older $4.99 75 62% 2.3k $11k (exactly $11,228) Badim
The Idle older $6.99 13 30% 390 $2.7k (exactly $2,726) iclick games
Idle Colors $7.99 10 30% 300 $2.4k (exactly $2,397) Like Idle Games
Idle Pixels $7.99 8 0% 240 $1.9k (exactly $1,918) Pixel Labs
Emperor Kingdom older $4.99 11 27% 330 $1.6k (exactly $1,647) Carnivore Games
Idle Income $5.99 8 37% 240 $1.4k (exactly $1,438) Trinket Games
Solitaire - Cat Pirate Portrait older $1.99 24 58% 720 $1.4k (exactly $1,433) Boogygames Studios
Level Up Simulator older $1.99 15 66% 450 $896 (exactly $896) Ashley H.
Idle Rect $7.99 3 0% 90 $719 (exactly $719) Lazy Idle Games
Anunaki Clicker $0.99 19 68% 570 $564 (exactly $564) DeveloperSansFrontieres
Battle Babes 2 $14.99 1 100% 30 $450 (exactly $450) Recoil Mojo
Retro Clicker $2.99 3 100% 90 $269 (exactly $269) Reloop Games
Games for Stream! $3.99 2 100% 60 $239 (exactly $239) Lacozy
Real Puzzles - Kittens $1.99 4 75% 120 $239 (exactly $239) Black Cat Leo

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