Do I ship it?

GamesBuildingBuilding + Turn-Based Tactics

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Turn-Based Tactics?

Building + Turn-Based Tactics

Of 107 developers who shipped a Building Turn-Based Tactics 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.. 159 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×236 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 159 games are announced against 62 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 159 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Turn-Based Tactics
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 107
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $2.5k → $1.2k → $3.3k → $2.5k → $1.1k → $1.3k (still earning) → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Turn-Based Tactics: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 107
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $12,171)
Top 5% $148k (exactly $148,352)
Developers, 2 yr 107
Released games 250
Announced 159
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 30% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Building, Turn-Based Tactics; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, City Builder
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 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 $7.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 10,858 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 50 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 159 games are announced against 62 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  2. + CatsFair52 devs · median $4.5k · 59 announced
  3. + TabletopFair56 devs · median $1.9k · 58 announced
  4. + Grid-Based MovementFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  5. + Interactive FictionFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced
  6. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $303k · 40 announced
  7. + JRPGPoor odds10 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  8. + Dating SimPoor odds28 devs · median $85k · 61 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds112 devs · median $71k · 251 announced
  10. + Real-TimePoor odds14 devs · median $62k · 20 announced
  11. + CrimePoor odds13 devs · median $55k · 52 announced
  12. + SailingPoor odds13 devs · median $52k · 40 announced

All 210 pairs on the Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Matchless Kungfu $19.99 6,755 79% 203k $4.1M (exactly $4,050,973) HuanMos Game
Blackthorn Arena older $24.99 3,477 69% 104k $2.6M (exactly $2,606,707) PersonaeGame Studio
The Battle of Polytopia older $14.99 4,731 94% 142k $2.1M (exactly $2,127,531) Midjiwan AB
Gladiator Guild Manager older $14.99 3,808 80% 114k $1.7M (exactly $1,712,458) Entertainment Forge
Port Royale 4 older $39.99 1,405 56% 42k $1.7M (exactly $1,685,578) Gaming Minds
Cardboard Town older $19.99 2,051 79% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,985) Stratera Games, cukuto
Master of Magic older $39.99 1,023 71% 31k $1.2M (exactly $1,227,293) MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio
Screeps: World older $19.99 1,934 86% 58k $1.2M (exactly $1,159,820) Screeps, LLC
Artisan TD older $16.99 2,237 88% 67k $1.1M (exactly $1,140,199) 4rtisans
Home Behind older $5.99 5,030 83% 151k $904k (exactly $903,891) TPP Studio
Deck of Haunts $19.99 1,206 84% 36k $723k (exactly $723,238) Mantis
Preserve $12.49 690 92% 21k $259k (exactly $258,543) Bitmap Galaxy
Craftlings $19.99 311 86% 9.3k $187k (exactly $186,507) ARIANO Games GmbH
Hold The Mine · EA $14.99 338 83% 10k $152k (exactly $151,999) Hookaria Games
Kingdom's Deck $9.99 495 72% 15k $148k (exactly $148,352) Ivan Aco
The Succession of Changing Kings $9.99 487 86% 15k $146k (exactly $145,954) KwaKwaGames
Yield! Fall of Rome $19.99 219 69% 6.6k $131k (exactly $131,334) Billionworlds
EcoGnomix $19.99 216 74% 6.5k $130k (exactly $129,535) Irox Games
Bellfortis $19.99 141 90% 4.2k $85k (exactly $84,558) Rake in Grass

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