Games › Arcade › Arcade + Chess
Should I ship a Chess Arcade game?
Arcade + Chess
Only 12 developers shipped a Chess Arcade game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Gambonanza, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 12 more are announced.
Verdict: long shot, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $180, ×0.4 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, but 1 in 20 cleared $720k, ×1519 the market median. Revenue is up 9940% on the market; 12 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $180 (exactly $180) |
| Top 25% | $17k (exactly $17,383) |
| Top 5% | $721k (exactly $721,319) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 26 |
| Announced | 12 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 up 9940% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Arcade, Chess
- Price point
- $4.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 8 games average 78% positive over 2,072 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 12 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Arcade with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + TrainsFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + MiningFair
- + FaithFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + LootFair
- + VampiresFair
Comparable games
Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate 2022 · $1.8M 
Gambonanza 2026 · $721k 
Egyptian Senet 2015 · $60k 
Chessplosion 2021 · $50k 
Hyper Chess 2025 · $29k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate | older | $9.99 | 5,918 92% | 178k | $1.8M (exactly $1,773,625) | PUNKCAKE Delicieux |
| | Gambonanza | $14.99 | 1,604 74% | 48k | $721k (exactly $721,319) | Blukulélé | |
| | Egyptian Senet | older | $9.99 | 200 81% | 6.0k | $60k (exactly $59,940) | Ezzat Studios |
| | Chessplosion | older | $11.99 | 140 95% | 4.2k | $50k (exactly $50,358) | C.T. Matthews |
| | Hyper Chess | $2.99 | 321 92% | 9.6k | $29k (exactly $28,794) | Grouch, SuitNtie | |
 | Urja | older | $9.99 | 95 53% | 2.9k | $28k (exactly $28,472) | Breaking Fourth |
 | Tabulo | $9.99 | 58 91% | 1.7k | $17k (exactly $17,383) | Noah Games | |
 | Order Automatica | $5.99 | 58 89% | 1.7k | $10k (exactly $10,423) | New Beings | |
 | Gigachess | older | $3.99 | 85 82% | 2.6k | $10k (exactly $10,174) | Drixxel Soft |
 | Shattered Chess | $7.99 | 28 100% | 840 | $6.7k (exactly $6,712) | Arti Works | |
 | Boardfall | $5.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $180 (exactly $180) | Follow the fun | |
 | ChessBlaze | $3.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $120 (exactly $120) | TokaranGames | |
 | Cyber Classics Collection | $1.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $60 (exactly $60) | Blacksmith Forge | |
 | King's Beat | $2.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Mikko Savikko | |
 | Knightfall Showdown | $4.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Atzi_ Games, Herpai József Mátyás |
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.