Do I ship it?

GamesAutomationAutomation + Turn-Based Combat

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Turn-Based Combat Automation game?

Automation + Turn-Based Combat

Of 23 developers who shipped a Turn-Based Combat Automation 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.. 30 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×170 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 30 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 30 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Turn-Based Combat
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $1.9k → $5.7k (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + Turn-Based Combat: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,887)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,285)
Top 5% $107k (exactly $106,693)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 41
Announced 30
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 70% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Automation
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Turn-Based Combat
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Automation, Turn-Based Combat; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Auto Battler, Simulation
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 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 $6.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 1,499 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Automation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds36 devs · median $57k · 31 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistStrong odds27 devs · median $4.5k · 32 announced
  3. + Open World Survival CraftFair28 devs · median $307k · 37 announced
  4. + HorrorFair19 devs · median $8.0k · 29 announced
  5. + HistoricalFair26 devs · median $7.9k · 24 announced
  6. + UndergroundFair20 devs · median $7.4k · 32 announced
  7. + Class-BasedFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  8. + MiningFair105 devs · median $4.9k · 164 announced
  9. + Auto BattlerFair112 devs · median $4.5k · 153 announced
  10. + ProgrammingFair84 devs · median $3.8k · 102 announced
  11. + FishingFair40 devs · median $3.4k · 46 announced
  12. + Turn-Based TacticsFair28 devs · median $2.9k · 36 announced

All 135 pairs on the Automation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Screeps: World older $19.99 1,934 86% 58k $1.2M (exactly $1,159,820) Screeps, LLC
Rogue Voltage $15.99 593 92% 18k $284k (exactly $284,462) Horizont Computergrafik
The Eastern Sacrifice $9.99 356 55% 11k $107k (exactly $106,693) 五条虾仁(5 shrimps)
Inn Legend · EA older $7.99 254 80% 7.6k $61k (exactly $60,884) AppleCoffee
Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch $14.99 61 70% 1.8k $27k (exactly $27,432) Dvora Studio Co. Ltd.
This Isn't Just Tower Defense $6.99 122 61% 3.7k $26k (exactly $25,583) Pri Games
Chronomon · EA $9.99 79 83% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,676) Stone Golem Studios
Delven · EA $9.99 51 90% 1.5k $15k (exactly $15,285) NikZ
Automatic Kingdom $12.99 28 75% 840 $11k (exactly $10,912) Matthew Pontarolo
狩魔之旅:万界仙踪 $4.99 64 73% 1.9k $9.6k (exactly $9,581) 知北游
Cradle of the Dark Brood $4.99 38 78% 1.1k $5.7k (exactly $5,689) RyuseGames
Wuwei Cultivation $1.50 107 86% 3.2k $4.8k (exactly $4,815) 程序员小灰

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