Games › Turn-Based Strategy › Turn-Based Strategy + Incremental
Should I ship an Incremental Turn-Based Strategy?
Turn-Based Strategy + Incremental
Of 58 developers who shipped an Incremental 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.. 71 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 40 developers shipped in the last year and 71 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $30 (exactly $30) |
|---|---|
| Median | $299 (exactly $299) |
| Top 25% | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) |
| Top 5% | $100k (exactly $99,657) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 58 |
| Released games | 129 |
| Announced | 71 |
| 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 80% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Incremental
- effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Turn-Based Strategy, Incremental; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Idler, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 4,581 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 71 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Turn-Based Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + WuxiaFair
- + Cold WarFair
- + RomeFair
- + LootFair
- + MiningFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + TanksFair
- + SokobanFair
- + Top-Down ShooterFair
- + SpaceFair
Comparable games
Cauldron 2025 · $755k 
WindStop Strategy 2026 · $448k 
Escape Dungeon 2020 · $318k 
挂机神话 2023 · $101k 
挂机手游模拟器 2025 · $100k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cauldron | $14.99 | 1,678 92% | 50k | $755k (exactly $754,597) | SleepyDad Games | |
| | WindStop Strategy | $9.99 | 1,494 78% | 45k | $448k (exactly $447,752) | Xia Start | |
| | Escape Dungeon | older | $12.99 | 817 79% | 25k | $318k (exactly $318,385) | Hide Games |
| | 挂机神话 | older | $1.99 | 1,693 90% | 51k | $101k (exactly $101,072) | 狮子 |
| | 挂机手游模拟器 | $2.99 | 1,111 91% | 33k | $100k (exactly $99,657) | 天光 | |
 | Calculate It | · EA older | $6.99 | 264 87% | 7.9k | $55k (exactly $55,361) | SVGames |
 | The Sealed Ampoule | older | $19.99 | 56 80% | 1.7k | $34k (exactly $33,583) | CAVYHOUSE |
 | CyberTD | older | $19.99 | 50 66% | 1.5k | $30k (exactly $29,985) | Clockwork Origins |
 | RoGlass | $9.99 | 88 98% | 2.6k | $26k (exactly $26,374) | James Castle | |
 | The Dragonhood | older | $7.99 | 83 73% | 2.5k | $20k (exactly $19,895) | Scrambled Games |
 | 100FRIENDS | $9.99 | 32 87% | 960 | $9.6k (exactly $9,590) | TWIN PIXELS | |
 | Upgradia | · EA | $9.99 | 32 65% | 960 | $9.6k (exactly $9,590) | Mytharia |
 | Idle Kitty | $4.99 | 64 82% | 1.9k | $9.6k (exactly $9,581) | 狮子 | |
 | Galactic Simulator2: Stargate | $5.99 | 42 78% | 1.3k | $7.5k (exactly $7,547) | PcZ Games | |
 | Skulker | $9.99 | 21 80% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) | Krow Game | |
 | Regnum Idle | $4.99 | 19 63% | 570 | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) | Vexos Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.