Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Card Battler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Card Battler?

Card Battler

Of 1,140 developers who shipped a Card Battler 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.. 1,988 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×661 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 1,988 games are announced against 718 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 1,988 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Card Battler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,140
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.2k → $4.9k → $3.2k → $2.5k → $2.0k → $2.7k → $836 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Card Battler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,140
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $12,225)
Top 5% $314k (exactly $313,891)
Developers, 2 yr 1,140
Released games 2,404
Announced 1,988
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 40% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

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

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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Card Battler
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 282,961 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 $12k, 1 in 20 over $310k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 550 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,988 games are announced against 718 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Card Battler

91 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Arcade + Card Battler Fair $1.9k 68 devs
  2. Bullet Hell + Card Battler Fair $1.2k 24 devs
  3. Card Battler + Gambling Fair $1.0k 64 devs
  4. 2D Fighter + Card Battler Fair $1.0k 10 devs
  5. Card Battler + Point & Click Fair $629 25 devs
  6. Collectathon + Card Battler Fair $628 35 devs
  7. Card Battler + Traditional Roguelike Fair $449 43 devs
  8. Party Game + Card Battler Fair $449 28 devs
  9. Card Battler + Solitaire Long shot $299 77 devs
  10. Asynchronous Multiplayer + Card Battler Poor odds $31k 33 devs
  11. Sandbox + Card Battler Poor odds $25k 18 devs
  12. CRPG + Card Battler Poor odds $25k 15 devs
  13. Card Battler + Dating Sim Poor odds $24k 11 devs
  14. JRPG + Card Battler Poor odds $20k 30 devs
  15. Life Sim + Card Battler Poor odds $16k 16 devs
  16. Turn-Based + Card Battler Poor odds $12k 123 devs
  17. City Builder + Card Battler Poor odds $8.2k 16 devs
  18. Hex Grid + Card Battler Poor odds $8.2k 12 devs
  19. Exploration + Card Battler Poor odds $8.1k 66 devs
  20. Party-Based RPG + Card Battler Poor odds $8.1k 27 devs
  21. Open World + Card Battler Poor odds $7.2k 9 devs
  22. Card Battler + Roguelike Deckbuilder Poor odds $7.0k 304 devs
  23. Card Battler + Visual Novel Poor odds $6.5k 48 devs
  24. Base Building + Card Battler Poor odds $6.0k 21 devs
  25. Procedural Generation + Card Battler Poor odds $4.3k 164 devs
  26. Card Battler + Perma Death Poor odds $3.4k 72 devs
  27. Online Co-Op + Card Battler Poor odds $3.4k 21 devs
  28. Auto Battler + Card Battler Poor odds $3.4k 155 devs
  29. Card Battler + Inventory Management Poor odds $3.4k 46 devs
  30. Card Battler + Grid-Based Movement Poor odds $3.1k 26 devs
  31. Tactical RPG + Card Battler Poor odds $3.1k 59 devs
  32. Creature Collector + Card Battler Poor odds $3.0k 55 devs
  33. Trading + Card Battler Poor odds $2.9k 12 devs
  34. Dungeon Crawler + Card Battler Poor odds $2.8k 132 devs
  35. Adventure + Card Battler Poor odds $2.8k 212 devs
  36. Sports + Card Battler Poor odds $2.8k 31 devs
  37. RPG + Card Battler Poor odds $2.6k 334 devs
  38. Card Battler + Dice Poor odds $2.6k 27 devs
  39. Card Battler + Roguelite Poor odds $2.5k 546 devs
  40. Automation + Card Battler Poor odds $2.5k 21 devs
  41. Card Battler + Choose Your Own Adventure Poor odds $2.2k 29 devs
  42. Class-Based + Card Battler Poor odds $2.2k 25 devs
  43. Card Battler + Interactive Fiction Poor odds $2.2k 16 devs
  44. Crafting + Card Battler Poor odds $2.2k 27 devs
  45. Local Multiplayer + Card Battler Poor odds $2.2k 19 devs
  46. Card Battler + Roguelike Poor odds $2.2k 634 devs
  47. Strategy RPG + Card Battler Poor odds $2.1k 110 devs
  48. Card Battler + Deckbuilding Poor odds $1.9k 793 devs
  49. Simulation + Card Battler Poor odds $1.9k 152 devs
  50. Management + Card Battler Poor odds $1.9k 81 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Slay the Spire 2019 · $144M Slay the Spire 2 2026 · EA · $138M Inscryption 2021 · $81M Balatro 2024 · $72M Library Of Ruina 2021 · $37M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Slay the Spire older $24.99 191,765 97% 5.8M $144M (exactly $143,766,220) Mega Crit
Slay the Spire 2 · EA $24.99 183,764 61% 5.5M $138M (exactly $137,767,871) Mega Crit
Inscryption older $19.99 135,017 96% 4.1M $81M (exactly $80,969,695) Daniel Mullins Games
Balatro older $14.99 160,715 97% 4.8M $72M (exactly $72,273,536) LocalThunk
Library Of Ruina older $29.99 40,605 94% 1.2M $37M (exactly $36,532,318) ProjectMoon
Marvel's Midnight Suns older $59.99 17,060 82% 512k $31M (exactly $30,702,882) Firaxis Games
Monster Train older $24.99 19,950 95% 599k $15M (exactly $14,956,515) Shiny Shoe
9 Kings · EA $19.99 21,352 92% 641k $13M (exactly $12,804,794) Sad Socket
觅长生 older $14.99 27,072 93% 812k $12M (exactly $12,174,278) Chalcedony Network
Chrono Ark older $24.99 12,623 90% 379k $9.5M (exactly $9,463,463) Al Fine
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
Backpack Battles $14.99 18,933 91% 568k $8.5M (exactly $8,514,170) PlayWithFurcifer
Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors $9.99 18,587 96% 558k $5.6M (exactly $5,570,524) poncle, Nosebleed Interactive
Super Fantasy Kingdom · EA $19.99 5,630 86% 169k $3.4M (exactly $3,376,311) Super Fantasy Games
StarVaders $24.99 3,760 97% 113k $2.8M (exactly $2,818,872) Pengonauts
He is Coming · EA $19.99 3,834 84% 115k $2.3M (exactly $2,299,250) Chronocle
DICEOMANCER $14.99 4,749 96% 142k $2.1M (exactly $2,135,625) 超厚皮猪猪 Ultra Piggy Studio
Slots & Daggers $7.99 7,421 93% 223k $1.8M (exactly $1,778,814) Friedemann

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