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Should I ship a Combat Turn-Based Combat game?
Combat + Turn-Based Combat
Of 360 developers who shipped a Combat 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.. 650 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $810, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $190; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×469 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 650 games are announced against 213 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $187 (exactly $187) |
|---|---|
| Median | $809 (exactly $809) |
| Top 25% | $7.8k (exactly $7,759) |
| Top 5% | $294k (exactly $294,235) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 360 |
| Released games | 886 |
| Announced | 650 |
| 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 40% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Combat
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Turn-Based Combat
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Combat, Turn-Based Combat; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $20.00 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $20.00 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 36,363 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $190. 9 in 10 of the 184 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 650 games are announced against 213 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Combat with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds
- + 4XFair
- + TypingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + SnowFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Match 3Long shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Political SimPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Baldur's Gate 3 2023 · $1.4B 
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition 2021 · $51M 
Solasta: Crown of the Magister 2021 · $18M 
DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake 2024 · $7.2M 
Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew 2023 · $6.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Baldur's Gate 3 | older | $59.99 | 755,010 96% | 23M | $1.4B (exactly $1,358,791,497) | Larian Studios |
| | Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition | older | $49.99 | 34,157 83% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $51,225,253) | Owlcat Games |
| | Solasta: Crown of the Magister | older | $29.99 | 19,680 87% | 590k | $18M (exactly $17,706,096) | Tactical Adventures |
| | DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake | $59.99 | 4,010 75% | 120k | $7.2M (exactly $7,216,797) | Square Enix, ARTDINK | |
| | Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew | older | $39.99 | 5,190 91% | 156k | $6.2M (exactly $6,226,443) | Mimimi Games |
 | Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector | older | $39.99 | 5,064 88% | 152k | $6.1M (exactly $6,075,281) | Slitherine Ltd. |
 | Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors | $9.99 | 18,587 96% | 558k | $5.6M (exactly $5,570,524) | poncle, Nosebleed Interactive | |
 | Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes | older | $49.99 | 3,164 75% | 95k | $4.7M (exactly $4,745,051) | Rabbit & Bear Studios |
 | DRAGON QUEST VII Reimagined | $59.99 | 2,138 88% | 64k | $3.8M (exactly $3,847,759) | Square Enix, HEXADRIVE Inc. | |
 | DRAGON QUEST I & II HD-2D Remake | $59.99 | 1,731 84% | 52k | $3.1M (exactly $3,115,281) | Square Enix, ARTDINK | |
 | Sunderfolk | $49.99 | 1,890 93% | 57k | $2.8M (exactly $2,834,433) | Secret Door | |
 | Beast Saga | $20.99 | 2,714 80% | 81k | $1.7M (exactly $1,709,006) | 嘉兴黑曜石(Jiaxing Obsidian) | |
 | OFF | $14.99 | 3,093 95% | 93k | $1.4M (exactly $1,390,922) | Mortis Ghost, Fangamer | |
 | The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II | $59.99 | 669 83% | 20k | $1.2M (exactly $1,203,999) | Nihon Falcom, PH3 GmbH | |
 | LUNAR Remastered Collection | $49.99 | 576 91% | 17k | $864k (exactly $863,827) | ASHIBI Co., Ltd., GAME ARTS Co., Ltd. | |
 | Rogue Waters | $29.99 | 955 75% | 29k | $859k (exactly $859,214) | Ice Code Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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