Do I ship it?

Games › Trading › Trading + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic Trading game?

Trading + Magic

Only 17 developers shipped a Magic Trading 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, Potion Tycoon, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 78 more are announced, ×7.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×6.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×794 the market median. Revenue is up 600% on the market; 78 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 600% on the market, 78 announced, ×7.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Trading + Magic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $0 → $1.3k → $3.3k → $4.7k (still earning) → $5.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Trading + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $540 (exactly $540)
Median $3.3k (exactly $3,297)
Top 25% $6.1k (exactly $6,067)
Top 5% $377k (exactly $377,211)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 45
Announced 78
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 600% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 38%, 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
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Magic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Trading; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Crafting, Management, Resource Management
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 1,245 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $3.3k, 1 in 4 over $6.0k, 1 in 20 over $370k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 78 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Trading with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + MiningFair32 devs · median $12k · 33 announced
  2. + Score AttackFair13 devs · median $600 · 13 announced
  3. + MMORPGPoor odds6 devs · median $206k · 42 announced
  4. + Character CustomizationPoor odds26 devs · median $60k · 137 announced
  5. + Online Co-OpPoor odds23 devs · median $47k · 84 announced
  6. + Co-opPoor odds24 devs · median $47k · 82 announced
  7. + FlightPoor odds6 devs · median $36k · 21 announced
  8. + SportsPoor odds11 devs · median $34k · 14 announced
  9. + CollectathonPoor odds28 devs · median $30k · 65 announced
  10. + PhysicsPoor odds23 devs · median $27k · 71 announced
  11. + DrivingPoor odds23 devs · median $24k · 48 announced
  12. + LootPoor odds23 devs · median $23k · 60 announced

All 109 pairs on the Trading page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Potion Tycoon 2024 · $377k Book of Travels 2021 · $239k Alchemist Simulator 2020 · $144k Dwelvers 2023 · $107k Between Adventures IDLE 2026 · EA · $76k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Potion Tycoon $19.99 629 71% 19k $377k (exactly $377,211) Snowhound Games
Book of Travels older $4.99 1,595 73% 48k $239k (exactly $238,772) Might and Delight
Alchemist Simulator older $12.99 370 76% 11k $144k (exactly $144,189) Art Games Studio S.A.
Dwelvers older $14.99 237 64% 7.1k $107k (exactly $106,579) Rasmus Ljunggren
Between Adventures IDLE · EA $7.99 319 71% 9.6k $76k (exactly $76,464) Loop Forge
Alchemist Shop Simulator $11.99 111 75% 3.3k $40k (exactly $39,927) Kool2Play
Magical Greenhouse $6.99 58 93% 1.7k $12k (exactly $12,163) Mgtt Studio
Cube Kingdoms $7.49 27 92% 810 $6.1k (exactly $6,067) GamingPugsStudios
Viking Vending $4.99 36 91% 1.1k $5.4k (exactly $5,389) FatFishGame
Ritualis: Summoner Simulator $5.99 26 88% 780 $4.7k (exactly $4,672) Noxtell Games
BookStore Simulator $7.99 17 41% 510 $4.1k (exactly $4,075) Dark Mind
白影酒馆 Tavern Revisited $9.99 11 63% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Stray Dog Game Studio
Farmsville · EA $3.99 11 100% 330 $1.3k (exactly $1,317) Farmsville Prod.

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