Do I ship it?

GamesTurn-Based TacticsTurn-Based Tactics + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Turn-Based Tactics?

Turn-Based Tactics + Hidden Object

Of 25 developers who shipped a Hidden Object Turn-Based Tactics 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.. 16 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 10 developers shipped in the last year and 16 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 16 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Tactics + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $300 → $1.2k → $449 → $269 → $299 → $719 (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Tactics + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $807 (exactly $807)
Top 5% $75k (exactly $75,282)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 62
Announced 16
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 170% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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 Tactics
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 Tactics, Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Relaxing, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 1,413 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $300, 1 in 4 over $800, 1 in 20 over $75k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 16 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + TanksFair24 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  2. + AutomationFair28 devs · median $2.9k · 36 announced
  3. + ProgrammingFair14 devs · median $2.4k · 16 announced
  4. + DiceFair47 devs · median $1.6k · 53 announced
  5. + MiningFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 8 announced
  6. + Time ManagementFair65 devs · median $1.4k · 69 announced
  7. + IdlerFair47 devs · median $1.3k · 48 announced
  8. + Psychological HorrorFair55 devs · median $1.0k · 56 announced
  9. + Traditional RoguelikeFair78 devs · median $629 · 95 announced
  10. + PsychologicalFair34 devs · median $629 · 40 announced
  11. + PuzzleFair263 devs · median $598 · 308 announced
  12. + PlatformerLong shot15 devs · median $360 · 18 announced

All 189 pairs on the Turn-Based Tactics page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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.
Pic-Me! $6.99 359 83% 11k $75k (exactly $75,282) GoofGames
DungeonCrawlers $8.99 77 68% 2.3k $21k (exactly $20,767) KusanohitoCreative
RECORD_DrowsyVortex $9.99 54 100% 1.6k $16k (exactly $16,184) LunarHillz
Crowhille - Detective Case Files VR older $5.99 90 88% 2.7k $16k (exactly $16,173) Saturn VR, NipsApp Gaming Software
Vandals older $4.99 81 76% 2.4k $12k (exactly $12,126) Cosmografik, Novelab, Ex Nihilo, ARTE F… (Cosmografik, Novelab, Ex Nihilo, ARTE France)
Last Escape older $4.99 46 67% 1.4k $6.9k (exactly $6,886) Fasu Studio
Shawarma or Shaverma older $9.99 14 85% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Stas Paty9mkin
12 locks and keys older $9.99 12 75% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) teamB
Dwarfer older $4.99 24 95% 720 $3.6k (exactly $3,593) SUJIKO Media Group
Gnomes Garden: Black Stones $14.99 4 100% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) 8floor ltd
Emergency Crew 5: Blazing Vacation $14.99 3 100% 90 $1.3k (exactly $1,349) 8floor ltd
スローライフサバイバー/SlowLife Survivor $6.99 5 0% 150 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) MIZUBLUE GAMES
Crown of the Empire: Timeloop Collector's Edition $14.99 2 50% 60 $899 (exactly $899) 8floor ltd
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

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