Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Chess

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Chess Turn-Based Combat game?

Turn-Based Combat + Chess

Of 25 developers who shipped a Chess Turn-Based Combat 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.. 50 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 15 developers shipped in the last year and 50 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 50 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Combat + Chess
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $10k → $30 → $598 → $449 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Combat + Chess: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $899 (exactly $899)
Top 5% $29k (exactly $28,781)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 51
Announced 50
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 70% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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 Combat
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Chess
effort 1 / 10 · high · fully specified rules and known engines

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Combat, Chess; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics, Board Game
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 519 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $270, 1 in 4 over $890, 1 in 20 over $28k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Combat with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaStrong odds20 devs · median $19k · 21 announced
  2. + Hack and SlashStrong odds28 devs · median $3.7k · 27 announced
  3. + RomeFair8 devs · median $16k · 13 announced
  4. + CookingFair15 devs · median $6.0k · 22 announced
  5. + UndergroundFair18 devs · median $4.2k · 29 announced
  6. + IdlerFair52 devs · median $4.0k · 41 announced
  7. + DiceFair49 devs · median $2.2k · 59 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair81 devs · median $1.4k · 107 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair59 devs · median $1.3k · 71 announced
  10. + Tower DefenseFair28 devs · median $839 · 34 announced
  11. + Artificial IntelligenceFair46 devs · median $719 · 52 announced
  12. + SolitaireFair26 devs · median $450 · 31 announced

All 175 pairs on the Turn-Based Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Master of Chess 2025 · $174k Pawnbarian 2021 · $135k Dark Chess 2023 · $60k Chessaria: The Tactical Adventure (Chess) 2018 · $59k Below the Crown 2026 · $29k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Master of Chess $19.99 290 83% 8.7k $174k (exactly $173,913) BRANE
Pawnbarian older $9.99 450 91% 14k $135k (exactly $134,865) j4nw
Dark Chess older $12.99 155 76% 4.7k $60k (exactly $60,404) Tall Troll Games
Chessaria: The Tactical Adventure (Chess) older $19.99 99 74% 3.0k $59k (exactly $59,370) Pixel Wizards
Below the Crown $14.99 64 96% 1.9k $29k (exactly $28,781) Misfits Attic
WizardChess $14.99 56 83% 1.7k $25k (exactly $25,183) TwoPM Studios
Chess Survivors older $4.99 155 83% 4.7k $23k (exactly $23,204) Aarimous
Yes, My Queen $12.99 50 82% 1.5k $19k (exactly $19,485) Wall Spaghetti
Usurper older $9.99 35 82% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Rogue Brain Studios
Gigachess older $3.99 85 82% 2.6k $10k (exactly $10,174) Drixxel Soft
Chess, Texas $4.99 27 81% 810 $4.0k (exactly $4,042) Studio Apollo
Petrified Pawns $5.99 17 88% 510 $3.1k (exactly $3,055) Bepansrad Studio
Centurion's Gambit $9.99 3 66% 90 $899 (exactly $899) iebaz
Questy Chess $5.99 4 100% 120 $719 (exactly $719) Dadako
Mind Over Monarchy $3.99 5 100% 150 $598 (exactly $598) Wise Puppy
Chessillo $5.99 3 100% 90 $539 (exactly $539) DRV

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