Cards have been accompanying people for hundreds of years, and we see them on monitor screens practically from the very beginning of gamedev’s existence. Nintendo started its activity by creating cards for hanafuda, and digital versions of Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh card games were available even on the most popular gadget of the 90s – Gameboy. This gold rush also affected computers – each subsequent part of Windows has a digital version of solitaire. Why did the public love card games and how big is the market?
The cards are deeply rooted in speech and belief – people who want to discover secrets put the tarot, and when we risk we put everything on one card. No wonder that they are also a source of inspiration for game developers. They were often virtual counterparts of TCG (Trading Card Game) titles known from stores, on which successive generations of teenagers have been brought up for nearly 30 years. The rules of these games, despite the complexity, are trivial for beginners – the main task at the beginning is to prepare a deck from which the player will draw new cards during the game. However, it was not until 2014 that card games conquered the gamedev market – Hearthstone was the first successwhile starting a boom for this type of productions. The title is still extremely popular, and in the previous year it had as many as 24 million active users. Since then, there has been an era where every major publisher aspires to own their own popular CCG game. Currently, the most popular titles include: Magic: The Gathering Arena , Legends of Runeterra , or even Gwent.
Not only Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon
Games drawing on nearly thirty years of TCG / CCG (Trading / Collectible Card Game) tradition constitute only a part of the card market. We can play titles that represent a digital representation of closed systems such as Star Realms , but also see productions with proprietary mechanics. In recent years, games such as Griftlands or Loop Hero have been successful , where building your own deck is an important part of the adventure. The list of examples would not be complete without the title of Slay The Spire, which was an absolute hit among gamers and influencers – the game after a poor start, in 2019, two years after its premiere, finally exceeded 1.5 million officially sold copies, and the final number of buyers is estimated at over 3 million people.
Polish aces up the sleeve
Fashion for this type of productions did not spare Poland. For over 4 years, CD Projekt RED has been animating the community around Gwent with variable happiness , and at that time he also created Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales . Throne Breaker uses mechanics known from the popular Witcher card game, but instead of focusing on multiplayer gameplay, it was prepared as a single player production with an emphasis on the story. The title received great ratings and aroused interest in card games – at its peak, the production could be tracked on Twitch by over 100,000. viewers simultaneously. The only thing that was missing were good sales results, which went hand in hand with artistic success.
No wonder then that despite strong competition on all platforms, creators from around the world are trying to create another best-selling card game. This trend is noticeable on the Vistula River, and the upcoming titles made in Poland include, for example, Jupiter Moons: Mecha ( RockAndBushes ) and The Amazing American Circus by Klabater. The game, which will be released in September, is distinguished by hand-illustrated cards (over 200) and an unusual, bloodless setting.
– Most of the popular card games are fantasy or sci-fi based. The Amazing American Circus rejects this scheme, offering players a journey through 19th century America. There will be many supernatural elements in the game, such as the character of Bigfoot, but they are only a curiosity.
– comments Michał Gembicki, Joint CEO of the company.
Excess of card wealth
There are nearly 400 card battlers on the Steam platform alone, and the total value of this market segment is difficult to estimate. According to the balances from the GLOBAL COLLECTIBLE CARD GAME MARKET 2020 report, as much as 98% of revenues are generated by digital editions of card games, which means that this type of productions completely abandoned their physical past. What the future will bring and whether Polish card shops will experience a renaissance after the lifting of the restrictions – no one knows, but with the development of gaming, virtual CCG and card battlery should wait a bright future. Their total value is already estimated at USD 12 billion, which is over 7% of the global gaming market. Should we worry about these huge and difficult-to-understand figures? Not necessarily, although it means that we will soon have a problem with playing all noteworthy card games.
