ReportSensor Tower
An Analysis of the Card Battler Sub‑Genre 2021
1 Jan 202126 pages~12 min full read
The card battler sub-genre reached a new revenue baseline exceeding $55 million per month in the first half of 2021, driven by a 17 percent quarterly revenue increase.
The United States has become a critical market, accounting for 27 percent of global player spending and experiencing a 53 percent increase in revenue per download during the first half of 2021.
Market leadership is dominated by established intellectual properties, with Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links and Hearthstone leading in lifetime earnings and Magic: The Gathering Arena entering the top ten shortly after its March 2021 launch.
While card battlers represent five percent of total strategy genre spending, the sub-genre shows significant expansion potential due to rising average revenue per user and effective user acquisition strategies.
The sub-genre demonstrates a healthy appetite for diverse gameplay, ranging from tabletop-to-mobile conversions like Magic: The Gathering Arena to high-volume download titles like Mighty Party and niche performers like WWE SuperCard.
The geographic landscape is shifting as the U.S. market matures, challenging the historical dominance of Asian markets like Japan and China in the card battler space.
The card battler mobile sub-genre experienced significant growth and market shifts during the first half of 2021. While representing five percent of player spending within the broader strategy genre, card battlers reached a new revenue baseline exceeding $55 million per month. This growth was punctuated by a 17 percent quarterly revenue increase in early 2021, driven largely by established "forever franchises" and the successful mobile launch of legacy intellectual properties.
The geographic landscape of the sub-genre is diversifying. Although Asian markets like Japan and China historically dominated the space, the United States emerged as a critical growth region, accounting for 27 percent of player spending in the first half of 2021. The U.S. market also demonstrated the highest growth in revenue per download among strategy sub-genres, rising 53 percent. This trend suggests the market is maturing and becoming increasingly lucrative for developers targeting Western audiences.
Market leadership remains concentrated among titles leveraging powerful intellectual properties. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links and Hearthstone continue to lead in lifetime earnings, while Magic: The Gathering Arena rapidly ascended to the top ten following its March 2021 release. The success of these titles, alongside niche performers like WWE SuperCard and the high download volume of Mighty Party, indicates a healthy appetite for both established tabletop conversions and new gameplay concepts.
The analysis utilizes data from Sensor Tower’s Game Intelligence and Store Intelligence platforms, covering global App Store and Google Play performance. Findings highlight that while the sub-genre is smaller than 4X strategy or MOBA categories, its increasing average revenue per user and the success of aggressive user acquisition strategies by new contenders point to significant ongoing opportunities for expansion.
