From Burnout Side Project to 4 Million Players: TCG: Card Shop Simulator Launches 1.0 Today

The solo-developed Malaysian indie hit exits Early Access with 95%+ “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews, adds playable Tetramon TCG battles, and launches across PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Switch, and Switch 2.

Today, O.P. Neon Games announced that TCG: Card Shop Simulator has officially exited Early Access and launched its full 1.0 version on Steam. With over 4,000,000 players in Early Access on Steam and Xbox Game Preview, TCG: Card Shop Simulator arrives as one of the most successful indie games you’ve never heard of. Until now.

To celebrate the launch, here’s a brand new trailer. Watch the official 1.0 Launch Gameplay Trailer here:

“TCG Card Shop Simulator was made because I was bored out of my mind after burning out from solo mobile game development back in 2023. I felt aimless and wasn’t sure what to do with my life,” says Ding Shen Sia, Founder at O.P. Neon Games and creator of TCG: Card Shop Simulator.

“I’m not sure if I hit some kind of boredom limit, but one day I thought to myself, ‘Let’s see if I can publish a PC game on Steam and make some cool Steam Trading Cards. I have always wanted to try it. And it would be nice if I can open an infinite amount of TCG card packs in the game, real ones are so expensive!’”

“I had no big expectations or plans for it other than making the Steam Trading Cards work, but I would have been really happy if it sold 100,000 copies in a year (it somehow sold that amount in just 3 days!). Fast forward to now I still cannot believe TCG Card Shop Simulator is actually going 1.0 on Steam and launching on all console platforms! A big THANK YOU to every player who played TCG Card Shop Simulator. Your support made this entire journey possible!”

Version 1.0 is a major milestone, but it is not the end of development. O.P. Neon Games will continue to support the game with future updates, bug fixes, and new content. Thank you for being part of this and please look forward to the updates after launch.

BY THE NUMBERS

4,000,000+ players in Early Access across Steam and Xbox Game Preview
95%+ “Overwhelmingly Positive” user reviews on Steam
3.5 million+ copies sold in Early Access
100,000 copies sold in the first 3 days—the developer’s original one-year hope

WHAT’S NEW IN 1.0

Playable Tetramon TCG mode: build decks and battle with collected cards
Full customisation, pricing, and shop-management suite
Continued post-launch updates and new content planned

Detailed patch notes can be found on the Steam page.

The 1.0 launch brings the full vision of TCG Card Shop Simulator to life, introducing the hotly-requested playable Tetramon TCG mode. For the first time, players won’t just manage the shop—they will be able to sit down, build decks, and battle with the cards they’ve collected, transforming their store into a true community hub.

This is alongside the robust Tournament Mode, which allows players to host high-stakes NPC competitions, and the full suite of customisations, pricing strategies, and management that made the title a staple of the simulation genre.

TCG Card Shop Simulator is available from September 15 on Steam (PC), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.