Do I ship it?

Games › Automation › Automation + Turn-Based Tactics

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Turn-Based Tactics Automation game?

Automation + Turn-Based Tactics

Of 28 developers who shipped a Turn-Based Tactics 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.. 36 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.9k, ×4.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.4k. Revenue is up 235% on the market; 36 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 235% on the market, 36 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Turn-Based Tactics
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $1.9k → $2.5k → $19k → $2.9k (still earning) → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + Turn-Based Tactics: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,349)
Median $2.9k (exactly $2,873)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,285)
Top 5% $187k (exactly $186,507)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 57
Announced 36
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 up 235% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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 Tactics
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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 Tactics; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Auto Battler, Deckbuilding
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 1,459 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.4k, median $2.9k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $180k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 20 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. + DeckbuildingFair44 devs · median $2.8k · 51 announced

All 135 pairs on the Automation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Screeps: World 2016 · $1.2M Rogue Voltage 2026 · $284k Craftlings 2026 · $187k Screeps: Arena 2025 · $63k Calculate It 2024 · EA · $55k
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
Craftlings $19.99 311 86% 9.3k $187k (exactly $186,507) ARIANO Games GmbH
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
Coin Tavern $9.99 114 85% 3.4k $34k (exactly $34,166) Woven Dream Isle
Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch $14.99 61 70% 1.8k $27k (exactly $27,432) Dvora Studio Co. Ltd.
出将入相 $6.99 90 72% 2.7k $19k (exactly $18,873) 克里斯工作室
Delven · EA $9.99 51 90% 1.5k $15k (exactly $15,285) NikZ
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
AFK leveling fight monsters $5.99 38 57% 1.1k $6.8k (exactly $6,829) Sora

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