Niche hub
360 games carry the tag · 8 released in the last 12 months (vs 146 the year before) · median price $9.99
balanced. Balanced space: 8 releases in the last year. Among the games here that reached 10+ reviews (most releases never do), the median sold an estimated 2,008 units (middle half 835–7,120). Games with a clear hook find their audience here without fighting a flood.
Unit medians are estimates, among games that reached 10+ reviews — most never do · how we estimate
What would change this: A wave of new releases (supply +150%) or a falling median would tip this toward Crowded. · confidence: high
The evidence — the niche's most-reviewed games
Slay the SpireBalatroStacklands9 KingsBackpack BattlesBackpack HeroYi Xian: The Cultivation Card GameBAPBAP
Aggregated over 12,938 stored reviews from 329 games.
Reviews are shown as published on Steam, including reviews from key activations and free copies — so percentages here can differ from the score on the Steam store page. GameTrend does not check whether reviewers bought or played the game.
The top 5 games hold 79% of the niche's 618,766 reviews; it takes 6 games to reach 80%. Fewer games to 80% means a harder niche to be seen in.
| Game | Released | Reviews | Steam says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slay the Spire | 2019 | 218,986 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Balatro | 2024 | 194,032 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Stacklands | 2022 | 30,379 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| 9 Kings | 2025 | 23,392 | Very Positive |
| Backpack Battles | 2025 | 20,746 | Very Positive |
| Backpack Hero | 2023 | 8,533 | Very Positive |
| Yi Xian: The Cultivation Card Game | 2024 | 6,882 | Mostly Positive |
| BAPBAP | 2025 | 5,844 | Very Positive |
| Guilty as Sock! | 2025 | 5,824 | Very Positive |
| DICEOMANCER | 2024 | 5,623 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
Combine Card Battler with other tags — and exclusions — in the segment workspace, or describe your concept and get this verdict on your exact combo.
Counts are measured (reviews, releases, prices); concentration is review-share, not an index; momentum is new-review pace between our own daily observations, computed across the segment's 400 most-reviewed games.