Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Turn-Based Combat game?

Turn-Based Combat + Hidden Object

Of 20 developers who shipped a Hidden Object 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.. 15 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $390 in the last 2 years and $390 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 11 developers shipped in the last year and 15 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 15 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Combat + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $300 → $449 → $59 → $356 → $807 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Combat + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $59 (exactly $59)
Median $390 (exactly $390)
Top 25% $2.9k (exactly $2,936)
Top 5% $672k (exactly $672,481)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 43
Announced 15
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 95% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

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, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Turn-Based Strategy, Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Linear
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 2,353 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $59, median $390, 1 in 4 over $2.9k, 1 in 20 over $670k.

3 in 10 developers made under $59. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 15 games are announced against 11 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. + CookingFair15 devs · median $6.0k · 22 announced
  5. + UndergroundFair18 devs · median $4.2k · 29 announced
  6. + IdlerFair52 devs · median $4.0k · 41 announced
  7. + DiceFair49 devs · median $2.2k · 59 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair81 devs · median $1.4k · 107 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair59 devs · median $1.3k · 71 announced
  10. + Tower DefenseFair28 devs · median $839 · 34 announced
  11. + Artificial IntelligenceFair46 devs · median $719 · 52 announced
  12. + SolitaireFair26 devs · median $450 · 31 announced

All 175 pairs on the Turn-Based Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Legend of Fancy Realm Remake 2026 · $672k Sunday Gold 2022 · $453k 灵墟 2023 · $312k NO-SKIN 2025 · $257k 月藍傳奇REMAKE古文明之謎 2024 · $146k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Legend of Fancy Realm Remake $24.99 897 86% 27k $672k (exactly $672,481) USERJOY Technology Co.,Ltd.
Sunday Gold older $21.99 687 77% 21k $453k (exactly $453,214) BKOM Studios
灵墟 older $10.99 946 86% 28k $312k (exactly $311,896) HappyTall Game
NO-SKIN $6.99 1,227 95% 37k $257k (exactly $257,302) NoEye-Soft
月藍傳奇REMAKE古文明之謎 older $19.99 244 93% 7.3k $146k (exactly $146,327) 天使蛋糕, 攸藍, 牙籤, 黃金, 咕咕咕, 鎧特
The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time $17.99 146 86% 4.4k $79k (exactly $78,796) Coin Drop Games, Lucas Immanuel, jucobe… (Coin Drop Games, Lucas Immanuel, jucobee, Kyle Chuang)
Before The Last Hour · EA older $24.99 35 65% 1.1k $26k (exactly $26,240) Lunaris Iris
Cave Quest 2 older $12.99 52 92% 1.6k $20k (exactly $20,264) MD Studio
Pillars of Dust older $6.99 23 95% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) Retreaux Games
Shawarma or Shaverma older $9.99 14 85% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Stas Paty9mkin
The Legend of Shiande $2.99 46 100% 1.4k $4.1k (exactly $4,126) Thales Caus
Elf Adventure: The Lost Castle $6.99 14 28% 420 $2.9k (exactly $2,936) 430Games
Verfall $6.99 7 57% 210 $1.5k (exactly $1,468) Hoffnung Haydn
Legend of Swords II $2.99 9 55% 270 $807 (exactly $807) CWGame
The Elquest | The Legend of Immortal Dremond $7.99 3 66% 90 $719 (exactly $719) Domax Games
Cardio $4.99 3 100% 90 $449 (exactly $449) Mat'ndCo
Claire Darksage and the Accursed Objects Collector's Edition $12.99 1 100% 30 $390 (exactly $390) IKIGames

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