Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Turn-Based Combat game?

Turn-Based Combat + Artificial Intelligence

Of 46 developers who shipped an AI 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.. 52 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $230. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 52 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 52 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Combat + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 46
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $32k → $1.0k → $1.8k → $48k → $11k → $628 (still earning) → $330 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Combat + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 46
Bottom 30% $225 (exactly $225)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $11,988)
Top 5% $50k (exactly $50,000)
Developers, 2 yr 46
Released games 108
Announced 52
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 20% on the market, supply 220% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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 Combat
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Artificial Intelligence
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Combat; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Roguelike
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 182,833 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $230, median $720, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $50k.

3 in 10 developers made under $230. 6 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Combat with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaStrong odds20 devs · median $19k · 21 announced
  2. + Hack and SlashStrong odds28 devs · median $3.7k · 27 announced
  3. + RomeFair8 devs · median $16k · 13 announced
  4. + CookingFair15 devs · median $6.0k · 22 announced
  5. + UndergroundFair18 devs · median $4.2k · 29 announced
  6. + IdlerFair52 devs · median $4.0k · 41 announced
  7. + DiceFair49 devs · median $2.2k · 59 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair81 devs · median $1.4k · 107 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair59 devs · median $1.3k · 71 announced
  10. + Tower DefenseFair28 devs · median $839 · 34 announced
  11. + SolitaireFair26 devs · median $450 · 31 announced
  12. + RhythmPoor odds10 devs · median $86k · 16 announced

All 175 pairs on the Turn-Based Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 2025 · $272M Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War 2018 · $9.8M Panzer Corps 2 2020 · $4.2M Screeps: World 2016 · $1.2M Combat Mission Shock Force 2 2020 · $1.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 $49.99 181,667 95% 5.5M $272M (exactly $272,446,000) Sandfall Interactive
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War older $39.99 8,148 82% 244k $9.8M (exactly $9,775,156) Proxy Studios
Panzer Corps 2 older $39.99 3,512 84% 105k $4.2M (exactly $4,213,346) Flashback Games
Screeps: World older $19.99 1,934 86% 58k $1.2M (exactly $1,159,820) Screeps, LLC
Combat Mission Shock Force 2 older $59.99 624 80% 19k $1.1M (exactly $1,123,013) Battlefront
Field of Glory: Empires older $39.99 734 81% 22k $881k (exactly $880,580) Ageod
AI Roguelite older $14.99 597 83% 18k $268k (exactly $268,471) Max Loh
Twilight Wars $14.99 229 74% 6.9k $103k (exactly $102,981) Comrade Bear Games
Dark Chess older $12.99 155 76% 4.7k $60k (exactly $60,404) Tall Troll Games
Chessaria: The Tactical Adventure (Chess) older $19.99 99 74% 3.0k $59k (exactly $59,370) Pixel Wizards
Tap Dungeon $4.99 334 81% 10k $50k (exactly $50,000) Xiao5 Studios
大宋英雄传(SongHeros) · EA $9.99 161 79% 4.8k $48k (exactly $48,252) LazyManGameStudio
Flirting With Girls in Fantasy World $12.99 113 35% 3.4k $44k (exactly $44,036) Hitoriku Studio
The Book of Outcasts $9.99 101 70% 3.0k $30k (exactly $30,270) kamti
Lustpunk 69 $8.99 83 87% 2.5k $22k (exactly $22,385) Kinky Business Group
DAICE $14.99 49 95% 1.5k $22k (exactly $22,035) Aeterna Ludi
Guildamation $14.99 36 75% 1.1k $16k (exactly $16,189) Hammerback Games
Silan: Monster Girl Master! $8.99 60 95% 1.8k $16k (exactly $16,182) 愛の勇者

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