Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Card Game / Auto Battler
Card Game + Auto Battler: a typical launch earns $2,671 in its first year
That is the median of 41 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 6 of 85 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 44% on the year before: 78 against 54.
- China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $2,671 median of 41 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −19.9% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 78 54 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 162 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 356 carrying both tags
Boards
as of 30 Sep 2026Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.
| Board | Value | Interval | Sample | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it. | 0.01%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.01% to 0.02% | 6 ranked of 162 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #3,699 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 1.05xhits against expected | 0.72x to 1.65x | 85 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #6,033 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period. | |||
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window. | |||
Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.
Launch success
launches 6 to 30 months oldMatured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.
- Launches
- 85
- Hit rate
- 7.1%2.5% to 17.1%
- Expected rate
- 6.5%
- Against expected
- 1.05x0.72x to 1.65x
Launch window: indie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old). Hit odds are shrunk toward the Steam-wide rate by 3 expected hits.
Revenue spread
85 launchesEstimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.
- Bottom tenth
- $24
- Median
- $2,262
- Top tenth
- $64,148
Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.
Supply
raw release countsGames released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.
- Change
- +44%
Parent tags
- Card GameGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Auto BattlerGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Comparable games
8 indie titlesThe biggest indie games in this pair by estimated lifetime gross. Revenue is shown as a number at 50 or more reviews, as a range at 10 to 49, and not at all below 10.
- The Bazaar (opens the Steam store)2025 · 15,044 reviews, 69% positiveest. $5M
- Meme Mayhem (opens the Steam store)2024 · 4,847 reviews, 74% positiveest. $1M
- Epic Auto Towers (opens the Steam store)2024 · 769 reviews, 70% positiveest. $233k
- There Are No Orcs (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,195 reviews, 93% positiveest. $218k
- Villages & Dungeons (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,041 reviews, 91% positiveest. $147k
- Throne of Bone (opens the Steam store)2024 · 329 reviews, 85% positiveest. $113k
- Grail (opens the Steam store)2026 · 401 reviews, 86% positiveest. $81k
- Godslayer Arena (opens the Steam store)2025 · 258 reviews, 76% positiveest. $78k
More with Card Game
pairs with Card Game- Card Game + Roguelike Deckbuilder$6,32394 launches priced, 164 releases in 12 months
- Card Game + Roguelite$2,214162 launches priced, 351 releases in 12 months
- Card Game + Dungeon Crawler$1,96232 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Card Game + Roguelike$1,821201 launches priced, 431 releases in 12 months
- Card Game + Turn-Based$1,61733 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Card Game + Turn-Based Combat$1,60648 launches priced, 123 releases in 12 months
More with Auto Battler
pairs with Auto Battler- Deckbuilding + Auto Battler$8,45742 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- Card Battler + Auto Battler$3,75930 launches priced, 90 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Auto Battler$3,39375 launches priced, 156 releases in 12 months
- Roguelite + Auto Battler$1,81961 launches priced, 156 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Auto Battler$1,51640 launches priced, 148 releases in 12 months
- Pixel Graphics + Auto Battler$1,41537 launches priced, 107 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.