Games › Automation › Automation + Turn-Based Strategy
Should I ship a Turn-Based Strategy Automation game?
Automation + Turn-Based Strategy
Of 28 developers who shipped a Turn-Based Strategy 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.. 31 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $62k, ×100 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 31 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,676) |
| Top 25% | $9.6k (exactly $9,581) |
| Top 5% | $63k (exactly $62,968) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 51 |
| Announced | 31 |
| 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 60% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
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 Strategy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Automation, Turn-Based Strategy; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Building, Economy
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
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 615 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Automation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + Female ProtagonistStrong odds
- + Open World Survival CraftFair
- + HorrorFair
- + HistoricalFair
- + UndergroundFair
- + Class-BasedFair
- + MiningFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + FishingFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsFair
Comparable games
Screeps: World 2016 · $1.2M 
High Seas, High Profits! 2025 · $74k 
Screeps: Arena 2025 · $63k 
Calculate It 2024 · EA · $55k 
Cantata 2023 · $49k | 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 |
| | High Seas, High Profits! | $14.99 | 165 86% | 5.0k | $74k (exactly $74,200) | lexy.zip | |
| | Screeps: Arena | $19.99 | 105 82% | 3.2k | $63k (exactly $62,968) | Screeps, LLC | |
| | Calculate It | · EA older | $6.99 | 264 87% | 7.9k | $55k (exactly $55,361) | SVGames |
| | Cantata | older | $12.99 | 125 60% | 3.8k | $49k (exactly $48,712) | Afterschool Studio |
 | Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch | $14.99 | 61 70% | 1.8k | $27k (exactly $27,432) | Dvora Studio Co. Ltd. | |
 | Meet me at NooN | older | $9.99 | 55 100% | 1.7k | $16k (exactly $16,484) | Pandaroo Interactive |
 | Automatic Kingdom | $12.99 | 28 75% | 840 | $11k (exactly $10,912) | Matthew Pontarolo | |
 | Upgradia | · EA | $9.99 | 32 65% | 960 | $9.6k (exactly $9,590) | Mytharia |
 | Idle Kitty | $4.99 | 64 82% | 1.9k | $9.6k (exactly $9,581) | 狮子 | |
 | 狩魔之旅：万界仙踪 | $4.99 | 64 73% | 1.9k | $9.6k (exactly $9,581) | 知北游 | |
 | AFK leveling fight monsters | $5.99 | 38 57% | 1.1k | $6.8k (exactly $6,829) | Sora | |
 | Ooze Keeper | · EA | $6.99 | 31 87% | 930 | $6.5k (exactly $6,501) | ZlitzGames |
 | Goblins Can Conquer | $6.99 | 27 59% | 810 | $5.7k (exactly $5,662) | starea |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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