Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Strategy › Turn-Based Strategy + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + Cats

Of 28 developers who shipped a Cat 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.. 29 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $4.0k, ×6.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $230k, ×369 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 29 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 29 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Strategy + Cats
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: $8.4k → $17k → $1.7k → $2.2k → $90 (still earning) → $9.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $598 (exactly $598)
Median $4.0k (exactly $4,046)
Top 25% $39k (exactly $39,371)
Top 5% $231k (exactly $231,482)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 55
Announced 29
Effort 5 / 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 40% on the market, supply 35% 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.

Turn-Based Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Cats
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Strategy; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics, Roguelite
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Cartoony
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 52,064 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $4.0k, 1 in 4 over $39k, 1 in 20 over $230k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $19k · 17 announced
  2. + Cold WarFair18 devs · median $9.9k · 22 announced
  3. + RomeFair15 devs · median $9.0k · 18 announced
  4. + LootFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  5. + MiningFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  6. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $3.7k · 12 announced
  7. + IdlerFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  8. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  9. + TanksFair25 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  10. + SokobanFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  11. + Top-Down ShooterFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  12. + SpaceFair107 devs · median $1.5k · 143 announced

All 187 pairs on the Turn-Based Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Mewgenics 2026 · $45M Everdell 2022 · $346k Dungeon Inn 2024 · EA · $231k Cat Chess 2026 · $96k Maliki : Poison Of The Past 2025 · $85k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mewgenics $29.99 49,996 89% 1.5M $45M (exactly $44,981,401) Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel
Everdell older $19.99 577 90% 17k $346k (exactly $346,027) Dire Wolf
Dungeon Inn · EA $12.99 594 92% 18k $231k (exactly $231,482) Cat Society
Cat Chess $6.99 456 87% 14k $96k (exactly $95,623) Capricia Labs
Maliki : Poison Of The Past $29.99 95 93% 2.9k $85k (exactly $85,472) Blue Banshee
Roulette Hero $9.99 260 92% 7.8k $78k (exactly $77,922) CLLC Studio
LOOTPLOT $6.99 221 94% 6.6k $46k (exactly $46,344) CodeTheory Ltd
Space Cats Tactics older $14.99 100 74% 3.0k $45k (exactly $44,970) Mitzi Games, Alex Nicola
Sushi Cat Legacy Collection $4.99 263 95% 7.9k $39k (exactly $39,371) Armor Games Studios
The Black Cat Magician older $3.99 224 90% 6.7k $27k (exactly $26,813) cryhades
Claws & Chaos $5.99 95 60% 2.9k $17k (exactly $17,072) Parhelion Studio
Roguematch : The Extraplanar Invasion $14.99 33 84% 990 $15k (exactly $14,840) Starstruck Games
Cats & Dice · EA $7.99 51 76% 1.5k $12k (exactly $12,225) Yongjustyong

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