Games › Simulation › Simulation + Chess
Should I ship a Chess Simulation game?
Simulation + Chess
Only 12 developers shipped a Chess Simulation game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Gambonanza, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 12 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $210. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 12 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $201 (exactly $201) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $25k (exactly $25,175) |
| Top 5% | $721k (exactly $721,319) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 52 |
| Announced | 12 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.70 |
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 400% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Chess
- effort 1 / 10 · high · fully specified rules and known engines
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Simulation, Chess
- Price point
- $6.70 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 2,083 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 12 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Simulation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
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Comparable games
Gambonanza 2026 · $721k 
Chess Ultra 2017 · $714k 
Master of Chess 2025 · $174k 
Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition 2016 · $112k 
Egyptian Senet 2015 · $60k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Gambonanza | $14.99 | 1,604 74% | 48k | $721k (exactly $721,319) | Blukulélé | |
| | Chess Ultra | older | $12.99 | 1,832 76% | 55k | $714k (exactly $713,930) | Ripstone |
| | Master of Chess | $19.99 | 290 83% | 8.7k | $174k (exactly $173,913) | BRANE | |
| | Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition | older | $15.99 | 233 74% | 7.0k | $112k (exactly $111,770) | Ripstone |
| | Egyptian Senet | older | $9.99 | 200 81% | 6.0k | $60k (exactly $59,940) | Ezzat Studios |
 | Chessaria: The Tactical Adventure (Chess) | older | $19.99 | 99 74% | 3.0k | $59k (exactly $59,370) | Pixel Wizards |
 | Tabletop Playground | · EA older | $14.99 | 121 79% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $54,414) | Plasticity Studios |
 | Chessarama | older | $14.99 | 121 90% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $54,414) | Minimol Games |
 | Chinese Chess | · EA older | $9.99 | 166 74% | 5.0k | $50k (exactly $49,750) | Wang Wenxi |
 | 3D Math - Ultra | older | $4.99 | 218 92% | 6.5k | $33k (exactly $32,635) | Big Mind Games 9000 |
 | Chess Infinity | $9.99 | 84 63% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $25,175) | Rockwater Games | |
 | Chess Kingdom | $4.99 | 45 91% | 1.4k | $6.7k (exactly $6,736) | Pinch Games | |
 | The Board is Yours | $2.50 | 38 97% | 1.1k | $2.9k (exactly $2,850) | Draelent | |
 | Chaos Pieces | $11.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | Suzuki Ken | |
 | Chesscape Room | · EA | $11.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $1.4k (exactly $1,439) | Figmenthol |
 | Checkers Kingdom | $4.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $898 (exactly $898) | Pinch Games | |
 | MiniMate | $3.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $718 (exactly $718) | Sharper | |
 | Chess Master Quest - Idle | · EA | $6.70 | 1 0% | 30 | $201 (exactly $201) | LearnTech Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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