Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Strategy › Turn-Based Strategy + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + 2D Platformer

Of 138 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer Turn-Based Strategy in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 149 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $420 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 79 developers shipped in the last year and 149 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 149 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Strategy + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 138
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $479 → $538 → $300 → $748 → $1.1k → $624 → $210 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 138
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $421 (exactly $421)
Top 25% $4.5k (exactly $4,492)
Top 5% $99k (exactly $98,939)
Developers, 2 yr 138
Released games 320
Announced 149
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 45% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Turn-Based Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Strategy, 2D Platformer; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RPG, Turn-Based Combat
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 9,892 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $420, 1 in 4 over $4.4k, 1 in 20 over $98k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 68 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 149 games are announced against 79 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $19k · 17 announced
  2. + Cold WarFair18 devs · median $9.9k · 22 announced
  3. + RomeFair15 devs · median $9.0k · 18 announced
  4. + LootFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  5. + MiningFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  6. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $3.7k · 12 announced
  7. + IdlerFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  8. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  9. + TanksFair25 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  10. + SokobanFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  11. + Top-Down ShooterFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  12. + SpaceFair107 devs · median $1.5k · 143 announced

All 187 pairs on the Turn-Based Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Psychic Kung Fu Master 2026 · $1.0M Worldless 2023 · $934k 再刷一把2：金色传说 2025 · $824k 英雄群侠传II 2019 · $756k Journey of Realm：Dawn Dew 2025 · $736k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Psychic Kung Fu Master $19.99 1,723 60% 52k $1.0M (exactly $1,033,283) 金十四工作室
Worldless older $19.99 1,558 94% 47k $934k (exactly $934,333) Noname Studios
再刷一把2：金色传说 $9.99 2,748 44% 82k $824k (exactly $823,576) 滑稽工作室
英雄群侠传II older $11.99 2,103 88% 63k $756k (exactly $756,449) 熊窝dodox
Journey of Realm：Dawn Dew $10.99 2,233 97% 67k $736k (exactly $736,220) 葱色兔兔/Scallion Rabbit
The Three Kingdoms: The Tales of Jian An $17.99 690 88% 21k $372k (exactly $372,393) 开翼网络
仙绣剑缘录 older $11.99 814 85% 24k $293k (exactly $292,796) 熊窝dodox
Koi-Koi Japan [Hanafuda playing cards] older $9.99 957 92% 29k $287k (exactly $286,813) Zoo Corporation
封神榜2022 older $9.99 927 91% 28k $278k (exactly $277,822) FC Maker
大千世界 older $3.99 2,289 86% 69k $274k (exactly $273,993) 滑稽工作室
吞食天地之乱舞三国 $13.99 271 92% 8.1k $114k (exactly $113,739) FC Maker
黯渊崛起：魔灵深渊 $7.30 508 80% 15k $111k (exactly $111,252) 攸缘游戏
小小侠客模拟器 $2.99 1,103 86% 33k $99k (exactly $98,939) 小小游戏
YGGDRA REFRAIN $9.99 311 79% 9.3k $93k (exactly $93,207) BD
No Retreat! The Russian Front $29.99 80 76% 2.4k $72k (exactly $71,976) Cyril Jarnot, Avalon Digital
STRANGER SAGA -Stranger Bach and Iskiyeld's Ambition- $9.89 225 86% 6.8k $67k (exactly $66,758) Retro Game Balance & Mechanics -レトロ… (Retro Game Balance & Mechanics -レトロゲームの手応えとバランスを追求するデザイン工房-)

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.