Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Interactive Fiction Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + Interactive Fiction

Of 38 developers who shipped an Interactive Fiction 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.. 58 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $230k, ×368 the market median. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 58 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 90% on the market, 58 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Strategy + Interactive Fiction
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.8k → $1.2k → $3.8k → $2.2k → $9.0k → $1.7k → $2.4k (still earning) → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + Interactive Fiction: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,398)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,389)
Top 5% $231k (exactly $230,992)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 97
Announced 58
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 90% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Interactive Fiction
effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Strategy, Interactive Fiction; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Strategy, Visual Novel
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 3,724 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $230k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

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. + IdlerFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  8. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  9. + TanksFair25 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  10. + SokobanFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  11. + Top-Down ShooterFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  12. + SpaceFair107 devs · median $1.5k · 143 announced

All 187 pairs on the Turn-Based Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Politics The Game 2025 · $757k Fabled Lands 2022 · $298k Blades of Jianghu: Ballad of Wind and Dust 2023 · $269k Crown Gambit 2025 · $231k Vae Victis - Khan 2024 · EA · $164k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Politics The Game $9.99 2,526 95% 76k $757k (exactly $757,042) Simplicity Games
Fabled Lands older $18.99 523 79% 16k $298k (exactly $297,953) Prime Games
Blades of Jianghu: Ballad of Wind and Dust older $18.99 472 83% 14k $269k (exactly $268,898) 永恆艾莉絲工坊
Crown Gambit $17.99 428 94% 13k $231k (exactly $230,992) WILD WITS GAMES
Vae Victis - Khan · EA older $14.99 365 80% 11k $164k (exactly $164,140) Doorknob22
This Is the President older $14.99 359 67% 11k $161k (exactly $161,442) SuperPAC
Dead Reckoning: The Long Drift · EA $14.99 174 83% 5.2k $78k (exactly $78,248) Garan Lorn
Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime $16.99 143 98% 4.3k $73k (exactly $72,887) Bonte Avond
Elysium Above 履云录 · EA older $24.99 85 83% 2.6k $64k (exactly $63,724) 上海泼泼猫文化传媒有限公司
Nova Hearts $19.99 84 67% 2.5k $50k (exactly $50,375) Lightbulb Crew
修仙•母珠传 Pig Training Legend $7.99 192 72% 5.8k $46k (exactly $46,022) MouseKKK
Wings of Empire · EA $14.99 49 87% 1.5k $22k (exactly $22,035) Droid Productions
Sainthood $9.99 50 94% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) Sainthood Project
Personality Excretion Hero Silvy's Rebirth $11.99 40 87% 1.2k $14k (exactly $14,388) Circle Fairy Flower, サークル☆フェアリーフラワー
Pay Back Girls $9.99 38 92% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) The Platypus

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