Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Aliens
Should I ship an Alien Turn-Based Combat game?
Turn-Based Combat + Aliens
Of 26 developers who shipped an Alien Turn-Based Combat game 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.. 54 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $65k, ×138 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 54 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,698) |
| Top 25% | $33k (exactly $32,984) |
| Top 5% | $66k (exactly $65,656) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 72 |
| Announced | 54 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Turn-Based Combat
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Aliens
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Turn-Based Combat; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics, Tactical
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 1,123 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 7 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Turn-Based Combat with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + WuxiaStrong odds
- + Hack and SlashStrong odds
- + RomeFair
- + CookingFair
- + UndergroundFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DiceFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + SolitaireFair
Comparable games
XCOM®: Chimera Squad 2020 · $6.2M 
Xenonauts 2014 · $2.9M 
Shadow Empire 2020 · $1.7M 
Nemesis: Lockdown 2022 · $549k 
Every Day We Fight 2025 · EA · $346k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | XCOM®: Chimera Squad | older | $9.99 | 20,602 71% | 618k | $6.2M (exactly $6,174,419) | Firaxis Games |
| | Xenonauts | older | $24.99 | 3,815 86% | 114k | $2.9M (exactly $2,860,106) | Goldhawk Interactive |
| | Shadow Empire | older | $39.99 | 1,431 82% | 43k | $1.7M (exactly $1,716,771) | VR Designs |
| | Nemesis: Lockdown | older | $24.99 | 732 68% | 22k | $549k (exactly $548,780) | InterStudio |
| | Every Day We Fight | · EA | $29.99 | 385 72% | 12k | $346k (exactly $346,384) | Signal Space Lab |
 | Templar Battleforce | older | $9.99 | 931 92% | 28k | $279k (exactly $279,021) | Trese Brothers |
 | Black & White | older | $14.99 | 612 71% | 18k | $275k (exactly $275,216) | 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame) |
 | The Last Federation | older | $19.99 | 380 72% | 11k | $228k (exactly $227,886) | Arcen Games |
 | Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics | older | $19.99 | 358 75% | 11k | $215k (exactly $214,693) | Tortuga Team |
 | UFO2: Extraterrestrials | older | $34.99 | 144 60% | 4.3k | $151k (exactly $151,157) | Chaos Concept |
 | Clonizer | $14.99 | 146 82% | 4.4k | $66k (exactly $65,656) | Juicy Plume | |
 | Void Marauders | $13.99 | 106 77% | 3.2k | $44k (exactly $44,488) | Autarca | |
 | Future War Tactics: SOF vs Alien Invasion – Turn-Based Strategy | $9.99 | 138 60% | 4.1k | $41k (exactly $41,359) | QuadCom Interactive | |
 | Eclipse - 2nd Dawn for the Galaxy | $12.99 | 95 57% | 2.9k | $37k (exactly $37,022) | BrettspielWelt GmbH | |
 | Earth vs Mars | $14.99 | 74 85% | 2.2k | $33k (exactly $33,278) | Relic Entertainment | |
 | Night of The Black Goat | $19.99 | 55 83% | 1.7k | $33k (exactly $32,984) | サークルREN | |
 | Astro Protocol | $11.99 | 66 93% | 2.0k | $24k (exactly $23,740) | Null Vector Studios | |
 | Xenowars | $19.99 | 31 83% | 930 | $19k (exactly $18,591) | Strategeion Studios | |
 | Card Coder | $14.99 | 27 74% | 810 | $12k (exactly $12,142) | Prof. Scherer |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.