Do I ship it?

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

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + Hidden Object

Of 22 developers who shipped a Hidden Object 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.. 15 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $240. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 15 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% 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 Strategy + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $300 → $1.2k → $449 → $599 → $359 → $807 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $1.4k (exactly $1,363)
Top 5% $257k (exactly $257,302)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 60
Announced 15
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 10% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Strategy, Hidden Object; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Strategy RPG
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 2,287 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $600, 1 in 4 over $1.3k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 16 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 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

The Legend of Fancy Realm Remake 2026 · $672k NO-SKIN 2025 · $257k Lulu & Ennoi - Sacred Suit Girls 2019 · $64k Waiting For The Raven 2020 · $27k DungeonCrawlers 2025 · $21k
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.
NO-SKIN $6.99 1,227 95% 37k $257k (exactly $257,302) NoEye-Soft
Lulu & Ennoi - Sacred Suit Girls older $7.99 266 78% 8.0k $64k (exactly $63,760) SmallSqurriel
Waiting For The Raven older $14.99 61 77% 1.8k $27k (exactly $27,432) Musclebird
DungeonCrawlers $8.99 77 68% 2.3k $21k (exactly $20,767) KusanohitoCreative
Meet me at NooN older $9.99 55 100% 1.7k $16k (exactly $16,484) Pandaroo Interactive
12 Labours of Hercules VII: Fleecing the Fleece (Platinum Edition) older $2.99 134 93% 4.0k $12k (exactly $12,020) Jetdogs Studios, Zoom Out Games
Freight Simulator older $5.99 48 52% 1.4k $8.6k (exactly $8,626) New Games Waves, Softwaves
Money And Lady | 财貌双全 $9.99 20 35% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Happy DLC Studio
Pillars of Dust older $6.99 23 95% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) Retreaux Games
The Legend of Shiande $2.99 46 100% 1.4k $4.1k (exactly $4,126) Thales Caus
Gnomes Garden: Black Stones $14.99 4 100% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) 8floor ltd
Hollow INN $6.49 7 85% 210 $1.4k (exactly $1,363) Nussygame
Elven Rivers 3: Sky Realm Collector's Edition $14.99 3 100% 90 $1.3k (exactly $1,349) 8floor ltd
Emergency Crew 5: Blazing Vacation $14.99 3 100% 90 $1.3k (exactly $1,349) 8floor ltd
Ghost Hunters $14.99 3 33% 90 $1.3k (exactly $1,349) 8floor ltd

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