Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Turn-Based Combat game?

Turn-Based Combat + Idler

Of 52 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 41 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.0k, ×8.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $420. Revenue is up 120% on the market; 41 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 120% on the market, 41 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Combat + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 52
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.2k → $3.6k → $6.1k → $4.0k → $9.6k (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Combat + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 52
Bottom 30% $418 (exactly $418)
Median $4.0k (exactly $3,950)
Top 25% $26k (exactly $25,583)
Top 5% $438k (exactly $438,458)
Developers, 2 yr 52
Released games 110
Announced 41
Effort 4 / 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 120% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 25%, 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
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

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, Idler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Adventure, Turn-Based Strategy
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 9,003 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $4.0k, 1 in 4 over $25k, 1 in 20 over $430k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 7 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 32 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. + DiceFair49 devs · median $2.2k · 59 announced
  7. + Traditional RoguelikeFair81 devs · median $1.4k · 107 announced
  8. + ArcadeFair59 devs · median $1.3k · 71 announced
  9. + Tower DefenseFair28 devs · median $839 · 34 announced
  10. + Artificial IntelligenceFair46 devs · median $719 · 52 announced
  11. + SolitaireFair26 devs · median $450 · 31 announced
  12. + RhythmPoor odds10 devs · median $86k · 16 announced

All 175 pairs on the Turn-Based Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Swords & Souls: Neverseen 2019 · $2.7M Dragon Cliff 2018 · $2.3M 再刷一把 PlayAgain 2022 · $1.2M Multiverse Loot Hunter 2025 · $930k Cauldron 2025 · $755k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Swords & Souls: Neverseen older $14.99 6,077 93% 182k $2.7M (exactly $2,732,827) SoulGame Studio
Dragon Cliff older $9.99 7,679 88% 230k $2.3M (exactly $2,301,396) Meta Interaction
再刷一把 PlayAgain older $8.99 4,416 67% 132k $1.2M (exactly $1,190,995) 滑稽工作室
Multiverse Loot Hunter $11.99 2,585 80% 78k $930k (exactly $929,824) 游戏养家工作室
Cauldron $14.99 1,678 92% 50k $755k (exactly $754,597) SleepyDad Games
Disgaea 6 Complete older $59.99 387 63% 12k $696k (exactly $696,484) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Wretch: Divine Ascent $14.99 975 75% 29k $438k (exactly $438,458) Ogopogo
Fantasy Idle Dungeon $9.99 736 70% 22k $221k (exactly $220,579) Leaves Games
无休仙途 $5.99 966 72% 29k $174k (exactly $173,590) GOCORE
The Eastern Sacrifice $9.99 356 55% 11k $107k (exactly $106,693) 五条虾仁(5 shrimps)
Loser Got Isekai’d – Sex, Side Jobs, and Odd Tasks $13.99 254 89% 7.6k $107k (exactly $106,604) Morexingame
挂机手游模拟器 $2.99 1,111 91% 33k $100k (exactly $99,657) 天光
The Girl's Moving Castle $9.99 181 88% 5.4k $54k (exactly $54,246) Destined game Studio
大宋英雄传(SongHeros) · EA $9.99 161 79% 4.8k $48k (exactly $48,252) LazyManGameStudio

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