Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Tactics › Turn-Based Tactics + Incremental

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Incremental Turn-Based Tactics?

Turn-Based Tactics + Incremental

Of 54 developers who shipped an Incremental 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.. 63 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $330 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 34 developers shipped in the last year and 63 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 260% on the market, 63 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Tactics + Incremental
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 54
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $598 → $449 → $179 → $119 → $359 → $299 → $598 (still earning) → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Tactics + Incremental: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 54
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 5% $10k (exactly $10,190)
Developers, 2 yr 54
Released games 140
Announced 63
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 260% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Tactics, Incremental; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Idler, Resource Management
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 1,905 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $360, 1 in 4 over $1.7k, 1 in 20 over $10k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. All of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 63 games are announced against 34 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

WindStop Strategy 2026 · $448k Peace, Death! 2 2021 · $128k 挂机神话 2023 · $101k Calculate It 2024 · EA · $55k CyberTD 2023 · $30k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
WindStop Strategy $9.99 1,494 78% 45k $448k (exactly $447,752) Xia Start
Peace, Death! 2 older $4.99 854 95% 26k $128k (exactly $127,844) AZAMATIKA
挂机神话 older $1.99 1,693 90% 51k $101k (exactly $101,072) 狮子
Calculate It · EA older $6.99 264 87% 7.9k $55k (exactly $55,361) SVGames
CyberTD older $19.99 50 66% 1.5k $30k (exactly $29,985) Clockwork Origins
New ZhaoYun older $29.99 25 44% 750 $22k (exactly $22,492) XBZYZ Game
Sex Arena: Passion of Aquilon 💋⚔️ $6.99 95 68% 2.9k $20k (exactly $19,922) Aquilon
Talent Club ~ Match 3 Puzzle older $6.99 83 69% 2.5k $17k (exactly $17,405) Ex-Erotia
Vandals older $4.99 81 76% 2.4k $12k (exactly $12,126) Cosmografik, Novelab, Ex Nihilo, ARTE F… (Cosmografik, Novelab, Ex Nihilo, ARTE France)
Princess Burst $9.99 34 47% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) Drownship Lilyon
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
Wuwei Cultivation $1.50 107 86% 3.2k $4.8k (exactly $4,815) 程序员小灰
Fungal Colony Sim 2 $7.99 13 61% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) Skylor Beck
Emberlands: Desktop Village $3.99 24 83% 720 $2.9k (exactly $2,873) Tiny Roar
Idle Colors $7.99 10 30% 300 $2.4k (exactly $2,397) Like Idle Games

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