Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Choose Your Own Adventure
Should I ship a Choose Your Own Adventure Turn-Based Combat game?
Turn-Based Combat + Choose Your Own Adventure
Of 86 developers who shipped a Choose Your Own Adventure 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.. 119 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×4.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $450k, ×965 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 119 games are announced against 52 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,268) |
| Top 25% | $19k (exactly $19,162) |
| Top 5% | $458k (exactly $458,171) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 86 |
| Released games | 218 |
| Announced | 119 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Choose Your Own Adventure
- effort 2 / 10 · high · branching text with light state
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Turn-Based Combat, Choose Your Own Adventure; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 40,164 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 43 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 119 games are announced against 52 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Turn-Based Combat with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + WuxiaStrong odds
- + Hack and SlashStrong odds
- + RomeFair
- + CookingFair
- + UndergroundFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DiceFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + SolitaireFair
Comparable games
Metaphor: ReFantazio 2024 · $53M 
Griftlands 2021 · $8.1M 
WitchSpring R 2023 · $7.2M 
Magical Princess 2026 · $3.4M 
Shadows Over Loathing 2022 · $2.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Metaphor: ReFantazio | $69.99 | 25,224 89% | 757k | $53M (exactly $52,962,833) | ATLUS | |
| | Griftlands | older | $19.99 | 13,440 93% | 403k | $8.1M (exactly $8,059,968) | Klei Entertainment |
| | WitchSpring R | older | $34.99 | 6,858 95% | 206k | $7.2M (exactly $7,198,843) | KIWIWALKS |
| | Magical Princess | $14.99 | 7,636 96% | 229k | $3.4M (exactly $3,433,909) | Neotro Inc., MAGI Inc. | |
| | Shadows Over Loathing | older | $22.99 | 3,120 95% | 94k | $2.2M (exactly $2,151,864) | Asymmetric |
 | Aurelia | $19.99 | 2,253 94% | 68k | $1.4M (exactly $1,351,124) | MirthalGames | |
 | Arco | older | $19.99 | 2,185 96% | 66k | $1.3M (exactly $1,310,344) | Franek, Max Cahill, Bibiki, Fáyer |
 | The Nameless: Slay Dragon | $17.99 | 2,050 91% | 62k | $1.1M (exactly $1,106,385) | The Nameless Epic | |
 | Pathway | older | $15.99 | 1,908 76% | 57k | $915k (exactly $915,268) | Robotality |
 | Legends of Eisenwald | older | $19.99 | 1,394 76% | 42k | $836k (exactly $835,982) | Aterdux Entertainment |
 | The Use of Life | $19.99 | 764 90% | 23k | $458k (exactly $458,171) | だらねこげーむず/Daraneko Games | |
 | Fallen Priestess: My Sister's Demonic Bloodline | $18.99 | 622 72% | 19k | $354k (exactly $354,353) | BBQ大好き | |
 | 緋月仙行錄 | $19.99 | 454 57% | 14k | $272k (exactly $272,264) | 月光草 | |
 | Mamon King | $12.99 | 603 90% | 18k | $235k (exactly $234,989) | LiTMUS Co., Ltd. | |
 | Parasite Black | · EA | $17.49 | 372 89% | 11k | $195k (exactly $195,188) | Damned Studios |
 | Erannorth Renaissance | $19.99 | 186 81% | 5.6k | $112k (exactly $111,544) | Spyridon Thalassinos |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.