Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Cooking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cooking Turn-Based Combat game?

Turn-Based Combat + Cooking

Only 15 developers shipped a Cooking Turn-Based Combat 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, MeteoriteFall, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $6.0k, ×13 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $2.0k. Revenue is up 2000% on the market; 22 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 12.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 2000% on the market, 22 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Combat + Cooking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $34k (still earning) → $6.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Combat + Cooking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $1.9k (exactly $1,948)
Median $6.0k (exactly $5,992)
Top 25% $34k (exactly $33,583)
Top 5% $254k (exactly $253,695)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 25
Announced 22
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $10.99

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 up 2000% on the market, supply 300% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Cooking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

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, Cooking; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Fishing, JRPG, RPG
Price point
$10.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 1,544 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.0k, median $6.0k, 1 in 4 over $33k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 22 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + UndergroundFair18 devs · median $4.2k · 29 announced
  5. + IdlerFair52 devs · median $4.0k · 41 announced
  6. + DiceFair49 devs · median $2.2k · 59 announced
  7. + Traditional RoguelikeFair81 devs · median $1.4k · 107 announced
  8. + ArcadeFair59 devs · median $1.3k · 71 announced
  9. + Tower DefenseFair28 devs · median $839 · 34 announced
  10. + Artificial IntelligenceFair46 devs · median $719 · 52 announced
  11. + SolitaireFair26 devs · median $450 · 31 announced
  12. + RhythmPoor odds10 devs · median $86k · 16 announced

All 175 pairs on the Turn-Based Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

SunnySide 2024 · $548k MeteoriteFall 2026 · $254k Terra Memoria 2024 · $230k Thirsty Suitors 2023 · $210k Dragon Song Tavern: Cozy & Adventurous 2025 · $164k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SunnySide older $19.99 913 67% 27k $548k (exactly $547,526) Aftabi Games
MeteoriteFall $12.99 651 78% 20k $254k (exactly $253,695) ST studio
Terra Memoria older $19.99 384 85% 12k $230k (exactly $230,285) La Moutarde
Thirsty Suitors older $29.99 233 96% 7.0k $210k (exactly $209,630) Outerloop Games
Dragon Song Tavern: Cozy & Adventurous $19.90 274 71% 8.2k $164k (exactly $163,578) Etherous Games Limited
Hungry Horrors · EA $14.99 209 98% 6.3k $94k (exactly $93,987) Clumsy Bear Studio
The Amazing American Circus older $14.99 138 61% 4.1k $62k (exactly $62,059) Klabater, Juggler Games
Dosa Divas $19.99 56 94% 1.7k $34k (exactly $33,583) Outerloop Games
GladiEATers · EA $14.99 69 92% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,029) MilkBubblesGames
Magic Inn · EA $14.99 68 82% 2.0k $31k (exactly $30,580) Purpledoor Studios
Apocalypse: The Last RV · EA $4.99 159 68% 4.8k $24k (exactly $23,802) 光年切片工作室
Tiny Monster Haven $7.99 25 100% 750 $6.0k (exactly $5,992) Digging Dino
Deepfried in Deepspace $4.99 16 100% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Medium Well Games
Staying Fresh · EA $3.99 17 100% 510 $2.0k (exactly $2,035) Rubel Games

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