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Should I ship an Interactive Fiction Turn-Based Tactics?
Turn-Based Tactics + Interactive Fiction
Of 36 developers who shipped an Interactive Fiction 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.. 66 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×1913 the market median. Revenue is up 385% on the market; 66 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,348) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,288) |
| Top 5% | $1.2M (exactly $1,201,149) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 36 |
| Released games | 95 |
| Announced | 66 |
| 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 385% on the market, supply as many developers as 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 Tactics
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Turn-Based Tactics, Interactive Fiction; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Visual Novel, Party-Based RPG
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $57.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $57.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 11,872 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. Nearly all of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Turn-Based Tactics with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + TanksFair
- + AutomationFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + DiceFair
- + MiningFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Psychological HorrorFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + PuzzleFair
- + PlatformerLong shot
Comparable games
Sora no Kiseki the 1st 2025 · $9.4M 
The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki 2022 · $2.0M 
The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki Ⅱ -CRIMSON SiN- 2023 · $1.4M 
The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki -Farewell, O Zemuria- 2025 · $1.3M 
Shao Song I 2026 · $1.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sora no Kiseki the 1st | $59.99 | 5,205 97% | 156k | $9.4M (exactly $9,367,438) | Nihon Falcom | |
| | The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki | older | $49.99 | 1,316 91% | 39k | $2.0M (exactly $1,973,605) | Nihon Falcom |
| | The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki Ⅱ -CRIMSON SiN- | older | $59.99 | 789 76% | 24k | $1.4M (exactly $1,419,963) | Nihon Falcom |
| | The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki -Farewell, O Zemuria- | $57.99 | 765 77% | 23k | $1.3M (exactly $1,330,870) | Nihon Falcom | |
| | Shao Song I | $14.99 | 2,671 81% | 80k | $1.2M (exactly $1,201,149) | 互动之星, 猫眼娱乐 | |
 | Politics The Game | $9.99 | 2,526 95% | 76k | $757k (exactly $757,042) | Simplicity Games | |
 | King Of The Castle | older | $9.99 | 1,403 90% | 42k | $420k (exactly $420,479) | Tributary Games |
 | Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter | $59.99 | 171 97% | 5.1k | $308k (exactly $307,749) | Nihon Falcom | |
 | 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 |
 | Love of Magic | older | $14.99 | 417 88% | 13k | $188k (exactly $187,525) | Droid Productions |
 | Heroines of Swords & Spells 2 | $9.99 | 262 93% | 7.9k | $79k (exactly $78,521) | Kirillkrm | |
 | Vampire Syndicate: Gangs of MoonFall | · EA | $19.99 | 111 71% | 3.3k | $67k (exactly $66,567) | A Memory of Eternity |
 | Nova Hearts | $19.99 | 84 67% | 2.5k | $50k (exactly $50,375) | Lightbulb Crew | |
 | UltraGirl Alters | $19.99 | 37 64% | 1.1k | $22k (exactly $22,189) | FutureInvention | |
 | 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 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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