Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Tactics › Turn-Based Tactics + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Turn-Based Tactics?

Turn-Based Tactics + Inventory Management

Of 65 developers who shipped an Inventory Management 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.. 143 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×4.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $230k, ×378 the market median. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 143 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 70% on the market, 143 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Tactics + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 65
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $9.0k → $20k → $539 → $1.2k → $4.0k → $2.5k (still earning) → $9.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Tactics + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 65
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,514)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $22,213)
Top 5% $237k (exactly $237,130)
Developers, 2 yr 65
Released games 126
Announced 143
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 70% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Tactics, Inventory Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Auto Battler
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 11,019 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $22k, 1 in 20 over $230k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 143 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

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

Keep Driving 2025 · $3.3M Vivid Knight 2021 · $735k Slice & Dice 2024 · $670k Knightica 2025 · $511k Wretch: Divine Ascent 2025 · $438k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Keep Driving $17.99 6,188 93% 186k $3.3M (exactly $3,339,664) YCJY Games
Vivid Knight older $14.99 1,635 89% 49k $735k (exactly $735,260) Asobism.Co.,Ltd
Slice & Dice older $8.99 2,484 96% 75k $670k (exactly $669,935) Tann
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games
Wretch: Divine Ascent $14.99 975 75% 29k $438k (exactly $438,458) Ogopogo
FRONT MISSION 2: Remake older $34.99 349 57% 10k $366k (exactly $366,345) Storm Trident S.A.
Dungeons of Aether older $14.99 609 82% 18k $274k (exactly $273,867) Aether Studios, ampersandbear
Backpack Jianghu $13.99 565 80% 17k $237k (exactly $237,130) 背包工作室
Monster Battles $14.99 459 74% 14k $206k (exactly $206,412) Fourteen
Police Shootout older $14.99 449 55% 13k $202k (exactly $201,915) Games Incubator, Hypnotic Ants
Turnbound $14.99 446 78% 13k $201k (exactly $200,566) 1TK
NEODUEL: Backpack Monsters $11.99 357 79% 11k $128k (exactly $128,413) dicehit, Rogue Duck Interactive
Backpack Dungeon $3.99 656 87% 20k $79k (exactly $78,523) 夜喵
Wardrum $24.99 87 86% 2.6k $65k (exactly $65,224) Mopeful Games
The Adventurers $12.99 150 78% 4.5k $58k (exactly $58,455) Eternal Vigilance Entertainment

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