Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Strategy › Turn-Based Strategy + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + Idler

Of 50 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 45 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×5.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $630. Revenue is up 375% on the market; 45 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 375% on the market, 45 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Strategy + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 50
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.1k → $15k → $9.7k → $32k → $1.7k → $6.3k → $4.4k (still earning) → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 50
Bottom 30% $628 (exactly $628)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,598)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $20,380)
Top 5% $221k (exactly $220,579)
Developers, 2 yr 50
Released games 107
Announced 45
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 375% on the market, supply 135% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 26%, 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
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Strategy, Idler; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Combat, Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 7,021 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 7 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 35 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. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  8. + TanksFair25 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  9. + SokobanFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  10. + Top-Down ShooterFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  11. + SpaceFair107 devs · median $1.5k · 143 announced
  12. + SteampunkFair25 devs · median $1.5k · 30 announced

All 187 pairs on the Turn-Based Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

再刷一把 PlayAgain 2022 · $1.2M Cauldron 2025 · $755k Disgaea 6 Complete 2022 · $696k Wretch: Divine Ascent 2025 · $438k Fantasy Idle Dungeon 2025 · $221k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
再刷一把 PlayAgain older $8.99 4,416 67% 132k $1.2M (exactly $1,190,995) 滑稽工作室
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
懒人修仙传2 · EA older $7.99 873 71% 26k $209k (exactly $209,258) 托更的修罗
蜀仙传·挂至飞升 $11.99 514 84% 15k $185k (exactly $184,886) 有杕之杜
无休仙途 $5.99 966 72% 29k $174k (exactly $173,590) GOCORE
👑Idle Calibur：Zero💕（选王之剑：零） $10.99 445 80% 13k $147k (exactly $146,716) 绝汪
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.