Do I ship it?

GamesTurn-Based StrategyTurn-Based Strategy + Dating Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dating Sim Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + Dating Sim

Of 26 developers who shipped a Dating Sim Turn-Based Strategy 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.. 33 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $22k, ×35 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $6.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $500k, ×805 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 33 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 35.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 33 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Strategy + Dating Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $269k → $11k → $42k → $46k → $50k → $1.5k → $22k (still earning) → $14k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + Dating Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $5.9k (exactly $5,935)
Median $22k (exactly $22,035)
Top 25% $50k (exactly $50,375)
Top 5% $506k (exactly $505,631)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 79
Announced 33
Effort 5 / 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 down 30% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Dating Sim
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Strategy, Dating Sim; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Turn-Based Combat
Price point
$10.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 6,844 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $6.0k, median $22k, 1 in 4 over $50k, 1 in 20 over $500k.

3 in 10 developers made under $6.0k. 5 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $19k · 17 announced
  2. + Cold WarFair18 devs · median $9.9k · 22 announced
  3. + RomeFair15 devs · median $9.0k · 18 announced
  4. + LootFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  5. + MiningFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  6. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $3.7k · 12 announced
  7. + IdlerFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  8. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  9. + TanksFair25 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  10. + SokobanFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  11. + Top-Down ShooterFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  12. + SpaceFair107 devs · median $1.5k · 143 announced

All 187 pairs on the Turn-Based Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Persona 5 Royal older $59.99 91,682 96% 2.8M $165M (exactly $165,000,095) ATLUS
Persona 3 Reload older $59.99 43,497 95% 1.3M $78M (exactly $78,281,551) ATLUS
Persona 4 Golden older $19.99 71,306 97% 2.1M $43M (exactly $42,762,208) ATLUS
Persona 3 Portable older $19.99 4,728 81% 142k $2.8M (exactly $2,835,382) ATLUS
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Prophecy of the Throne older $59.99 1,042 87% 31k $1.9M (exactly $1,875,287) Chime Corporation
The Arrogant Kaiju Princess and The Detective Servant older $14.99 3,468 96% 104k $1.6M (exactly $1,559,560) ARTcelerator, PantyParrot
Rebellion GODSOUL: Awakening · EA $17.99 2,458 85% 74k $1.3M (exactly $1,326,583) U-Secret Studio
Robolife-Days with Aino older $14.99 1,387 91% 42k $624k (exactly $623,734) Barance Studio
Ledgerbound $29.99 562 92% 17k $506k (exactly $505,631) OmniMegaSuperCorp
Sunrider: Liberation Day - Captain's Edition older $24.99 621 84% 19k $466k (exactly $465,564) Love in Space
WindStop Strategy $9.99 1,494 78% 45k $448k (exactly $447,752) Xia Start
MeteoriteFall $12.99 651 78% 20k $254k (exactly $253,695) ST studio
Cradle of Nightmare : Flowers to you $6.99 705 92% 21k $148k (exactly $147,838) 红锈雨
👑Idle Calibur:Zero💕(选王之剑:零) $10.99 445 80% 13k $147k (exactly $146,716) 绝汪
Nova Hearts $19.99 84 67% 2.5k $50k (exactly $50,375) Lightbulb Crew
I'm Not Sex King $10.99 147 76% 4.4k $48k (exactly $48,466) Sex King
修仙•母珠传 Pig Training Legend $7.99 192 72% 5.8k $46k (exactly $46,022) MouseKKK
Demon Maiden and Slave Summoning $10.99 106 82% 3.2k $35k (exactly $34,948) Sunspot

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