Do I ship it?

GamesTrading Card GameTrading Card Game + Resource Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Resource Management Trading Card Game?

Trading Card Game + Resource Management

Of 22 developers who shipped a Resource Management Trading 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.. 44 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $38k, ×62 the market median. Revenue is up 435% on the market; 44 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 435% on the market, 44 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Trading Card Game + Resource Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $9.4k → $7.1k (still earning) → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Trading Card Game + Resource Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,397)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,190)
Top 5% $39k (exactly $38,661)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 46
Announced 44
Effort 6 / 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 435% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 33%, 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
Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

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, Resource Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Game, Deckbuilding
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Family Friendly
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 82% positive over 1,016 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $38k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Out of the Park Baseball 27 $49.99 475 82% 14k $712k (exactly $712,358) Out of the Park Developments
12 Labours of Hercules II: The Cretan Bull older $2.99 1,736 90% 52k $156k (exactly $155,719) Jetdogs Studios, Zoom Out Games
Gnomes Garden older $14.99 262 87% 7.9k $118k (exactly $117,821) Workroom7, Creobit
Vertical Kingdom older $19.99 113 75% 3.4k $68k (exactly $67,766) Farlight Games Industry
Castle Cardians · EA older $14.99 113 72% 3.4k $51k (exactly $50,816) 风宇冲
Islets Defense $9.99 129 94% 3.9k $39k (exactly $38,661) MiniGoof
FeeBay Simulator $5.99 167 91% 5.0k $30k (exactly $30,010) Lake Country Games
It's time, Your Majesty $6.99 77 64% 2.3k $16k (exactly $16,147) String studio
Areteion $19.99 17 94% 510 $10k (exactly $10,195) juxtapositioned
Arctic Digger TCG Collection $9.99 34 79% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) ToD Game Studio
Millennium Strategy $14.99 21 85% 630 $9.4k (exactly $9,444) MiMo Games
DVD Store Simulator · EA $8.99 35 57% 1.1k $9.4k (exactly $9,440) AltF4 Games
Schoolgirl Card Pull Simulator $6.99 34 61% 1.0k $7.1k (exactly $7,130) Violet Soft
Isekai Mage Girl Gacha Pull Simulator: Elemental Card Collection $6.99 27 74% 810 $5.7k (exactly $5,662) Violet Soft

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