Do I ship it?

GamesTrading Card GameTrading Card Game + Strategy RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Strategy RPG Trading Card Game?

Trading Card Game + Strategy RPG

Of 21 developers who shipped a Strategy RPG 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.. 48 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×453 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 48 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 48 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Trading Card Game + Strategy RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $82k → $89 → $4.3k → $1.5k → $3.1k → $390 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Trading Card Game + Strategy RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $4.3k (exactly $4,316)
Top 5% $284k (exactly $284,462)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 64
Announced 48
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 down 55% on the market, supply 35% 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 Card Game
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Strategy RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Strategy RPG; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Card Battler, Strategy, Card Game
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 3,382 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 $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $4.3k, 1 in 20 over $280k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 7 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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
Aces & Adventures older $19.99 2,220 89% 67k $1.3M (exactly $1,331,334) Triple.B.Titles
Dream of Corpse Lady $9.99 2,115 93% 63k $634k (exactly $633,866) HT3 Studio
Nowhere Prophet older $24.99 721 77% 22k $541k (exactly $540,534) Sharkbomb Studios
RUNGORE older $14.99 991 85% 30k $446k (exactly $445,653) YOUR_MOM'S_HP, RavenJm
Rogue Voltage $15.99 593 92% 18k $284k (exactly $284,462) Horizont Computergrafik
Kādomon: Hyper Auto Battlers $9.99 543 65% 16k $163k (exactly $162,737) Dino Rocket
Helmetman · EA older $19.99 136 79% 4.1k $82k (exactly $81,559) GoniNmimi Games
The Amazing American Circus older $14.99 138 61% 4.1k $62k (exactly $62,059) Klabater, Juggler Games
XenoWorld ~The Rondeau of Astra~ older $10.99 112 75% 3.4k $37k (exactly $36,926) IMaiIna_, INA
Desert Revenant · EA older $14.99 26 76% 780 $12k (exactly $11,692) Kreationware
Soul•Apocalypto $11.99 20 80% 600 $7.2k (exactly $7,194) 卜乙冈(Ploygon)
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
Treasure Atlas · EA $11.99 12 83% 360 $4.3k (exactly $4,316) zzeerr
Mind of War · EA $10.99 13 100% 390 $4.3k (exactly $4,286) Pi Video games
CyCall · EA $12.99 8 75% 240 $3.1k (exactly $3,118) PzGames
Card Streamer Simulator $2.99 17 52% 510 $1.5k (exactly $1,525) Scissors Game

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