Why card games have enslaved the gaming industry

In 2014, the card game Hearthstone was released. At the time, it was a new and interesting genre that attracted many gamers. Now, card games have practically enslaved the industry. Not only a large number of projects of such genre are released. Card decks are found in many shooters and MMO games.

However, such an abundance of cards irritates some players who fundamentally avoid games with KKI elements. A few years ago some game designers were saying that this craze would become ubiquitous. And for good reason.

Playing cards is easy

There’s probably no one to whom card games aren’t familiar. They’ve been around for more than 600 years, and in general terms, the game mechanics haven’t changed much over the years. As for digital card games, it’s pretty much the same. They all have their own analogues of “poison”, “mana”, and “attack boost”. So if a gamer wants to switch from “Gwynth” to “Legends of Runeterra”, it’s not hard to do.

In addition, maps are also convenient for developers. After all, they replace complicated and expensive to implement mechanics. In essence, the card game is similar to the classic RPG. Only in it you do not need to choose skills and the opponent. All you have to do is pick a card and attack. All of this allows the developers to save significantly on budget without spending a lot of money on elaborate animations. Testing and updating the cards is much easier too.

Card Never Get Boring

It’s the presence of tiered combinations that makes the cards replayable. Each deck has its own unique abilities. Therefore, every battle is different from the previous one. Of course, because of the abundance of options, the balance suffers, but the players have a wide scope for imagination.

Additional interest is the presence of certain restrictions. The existing limit on the number of cards in the deck does not allow you to try out the best combinations. So you have to learn how to pick the most effective combinations. And even if you manage to put together a perfect deck, you can not always win. Thanks to the constant updates to the games there are new heroes and abilities that will break the balance and force you to look for other solutions.

Collecting cards

Collecting collectibles is found in games of all genres. Such content is used to keep users engaged. And card games are ideal for collecting. There can be several thousand cards in a deck and the most avid players will collect them all.

That said, collecting is often selective. Users may be held back in the game by the possibility of finding a certain card that will make the deck as strong as possible. So one has to play over and over again in the hope of getting the right card. There is also a social aspect to collecting. Many players compete against each other and want to outdo the rest by becoming the owner of the rarest card. Collecting is also attractive to developers, who can sell unique cards for good money.

All this is the reason why card games attract users. They have a very low entry threshold and plenty of room for imagination. The variety of tactics and decks is constantly expanding with additions and upgrades. That’s why every player finds something interesting here. Some attracted by the possibility of collecting, someone ponders the strategies and trying to build an invincible deck.

As a result, games with KKI elements can be played without interruption for several years. And many gamers are willing to spend serious money on this hobby. That’s why many studios are tweaking the card mechanics and adding them to different genres as an important factor in gameplay. That said, classic CCIs continue to be released and find their fans. It’s safe to say that we should expect even more card mechanics in other games in the near future, but only in a more original incarnation.