Games › Turn-Based Strategy › Turn-Based Strategy + Artificial Intelligence
Should I ship an AI Turn-Based Strategy?
Turn-Based Strategy + Artificial Intelligence
Of 55 developers who shipped an AI 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.. 78 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×164 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 78 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $10,912) |
| Top 5% | $103k (exactly $102,981) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 55 |
| Released games | 176 |
| Announced | 78 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 35% on the market, supply 175% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Artificial Intelligence
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Turn-Based Strategy; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RPG, Turn-Based Tactics
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 2,526 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 78 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Turn-Based Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + WuxiaFair
- + Cold WarFair
- + RomeFair
- + LootFair
- + MiningFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + TanksFair
- + SokobanFair
- + Top-Down ShooterFair
- + SpaceFair
Comparable games
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War 2018 · $9.8M 
Democracy 4 2022 · $5.3M 
Panzer Corps 2 2020 · $4.2M 
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel 2020 · $2.9M 
Screeps: World 2016 · $1.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War | older | $39.99 | 8,148 82% | 244k | $9.8M (exactly $9,775,156) | Proxy Studios |
| | Democracy 4 | older | $29.99 | 5,891 81% | 177k | $5.3M (exactly $5,300,133) | Positech Games |
| | Panzer Corps 2 | older | $39.99 | 3,512 84% | 105k | $4.2M (exactly $4,213,346) | Flashback Games |
| | 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel | older | $11.99 | 8,097 96% | 243k | $2.9M (exactly $2,912,491) | Conor Petersen, Thunkspace, LLC |
| | Screeps: World | older | $19.99 | 1,934 86% | 58k | $1.2M (exactly $1,159,820) | Screeps, LLC |
 | Moonbreaker | older | $29.99 | 1,289 84% | 39k | $1.2M (exactly $1,159,713) | Unknown Worlds Entertainment |
 | 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 |
 | Galactic Civilizations® II: Ultimate Edition | older | $9.99 | 955 80% | 29k | $286k (exactly $286,214) | Stardock Entertainment |
 | The Conquest of Go | $14.99 | 581 94% | 17k | $261k (exactly $261,276) | Wolfey Studios | |
 | Feed the Scorchpot | $14.99 | 371 87% | 11k | $167k (exactly $166,839) | Moravian | |
 | Twilight Wars | $14.99 | 229 74% | 6.9k | $103k (exactly $102,981) | Comrade Bear Games | |
 | Mr. President | $19.99 | 162 75% | 4.9k | $97k (exactly $97,151) | Exia Labs | |
 | Backpack Dungeon | $3.99 | 656 87% | 20k | $79k (exactly $78,523) | 夜喵 | |
 | Screeps: Arena | $19.99 | 105 82% | 3.2k | $63k (exactly $62,968) | Screeps, LLC | |
 | I'm Not Sex King | $10.99 | 147 76% | 4.4k | $48k (exactly $48,466) | Sex King | |
 | 大宋英雄传(SongHeros) | · EA | $9.99 | 161 79% | 4.8k | $48k (exactly $48,252) | LazyManGameStudio |
 | Until Chloe, the New Wife, Falls | $11.99 | 65 63% | 2.0k | $23k (exactly $23,380) | StudioVR | |
 | DAICE | $14.99 | 49 95% | 1.5k | $22k (exactly $22,035) | Aeterna Ludi |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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