Games › Strategy › Strategy + Dice
Should I ship a Dice Strategy game?
Strategy + Dice
Of 100 developers who shipped a Dice Strategy 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.. 167 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.6k, ×4.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $630; 1 in 20 cleared $410k, ×667 the market median. Revenue is up 115% on the market; 167 games are announced against 75 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $628 (exactly $628) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.6k (exactly $2,637) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $13,486) |
| Top 5% | $419k (exactly $418,928) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 100 |
| Released games | 130 |
| Announced | 167 |
| 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 up 115% on the market, supply 200% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy, Dice; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Deckbuilding, Roguelike
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 14,339 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $630. 8 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 167 games are announced against 75 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
Comparable games
Dicey Dungeons 2019 · $4.7M 
Gordian Quest 2022 · $3.2M 
Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles 2023 · $2.3M 
DICEOMANCER 2024 · $2.1M 
Dice & Fold 2024 · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dicey Dungeons | older | $14.99 | 10,444 88% | 313k | $4.7M (exactly $4,696,667) | Terry Cavanagh |
| | Gordian Quest | older | $19.99 | 5,259 88% | 158k | $3.2M (exactly $3,153,822) | Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holding… (Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holdings Pte Ltd) |
| | Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles | older | $24.99 | 3,011 92% | 90k | $2.3M (exactly $2,257,347) | Little Leo Games |
| | DICEOMANCER | $14.99 | 4,749 96% | 142k | $2.1M (exactly $2,135,625) | 超厚皮猪猪 Ultra Piggy Studio | |
| | Dice & Fold | older | $12.99 | 3,491 83% | 105k | $1.4M (exactly $1,360,443) | Tinymice Entertainment |
 | Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked | $29.99 | 1,235 82% | 37k | $1.1M (exactly $1,111,130) | Resolution Games | |
 | SpellRogue | $19.99 | 1,566 86% | 47k | $939k (exactly $939,130) | Guidelight Games | |
 | Rune Dice | $14.99 | 1,267 79% | 38k | $570k (exactly $569,770) | Smart Raven Studio | |
 | Dice A Million | $12.99 | 1,075 90% | 32k | $419k (exactly $418,928) | countlessnights | |
 | Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party? | $24.99 | 448 88% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,866) | Sting | |
 | Dice With Death | $13.99 | 779 91% | 23k | $327k (exactly $326,946) | Sea Glass Games | |
 | Dobbel Dungeon | $19.99 | 441 92% | 13k | $264k (exactly $264,468) | Gamepie | |
 | Incredicer | $2.99 | 2,408 85% | 72k | $216k (exactly $215,998) | pochi | |
 | Feed the Scorchpot | $14.99 | 371 87% | 11k | $167k (exactly $166,839) | Moravian |
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.