Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Investigation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Investigation Turn-Based Combat game?

Turn-Based Combat + Investigation

Only 9 developers shipped an Investigation Turn-Based Combat game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 47 more are announced, ×16 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $11k against a market of $480. 47 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 24.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 47 announced, ×16 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Combat + Investigation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $37k → $34k → $11k
Outcomes for Turn-Based Combat + Investigation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $11k (exactly $11,389)
Top 25% $34k (exactly $34,166)
Top 5% $79k (exactly $78,796)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 36
Announced 47
Effort 4 / 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 down 100% on the market, supply 50% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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 Combat
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Investigation
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Combat, Investigation
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 8,533 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 $11k, 1 in 4 over $34k, 1 in 20 over $78k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×16 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Combat with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaStrong odds20 devs · median $19k · 21 announced
  2. + Hack and SlashStrong odds28 devs · median $3.7k · 27 announced
  3. + RomeFair8 devs · median $16k · 13 announced
  4. + CookingFair15 devs · median $6.0k · 22 announced
  5. + UndergroundFair18 devs · median $4.2k · 29 announced
  6. + IdlerFair52 devs · median $4.0k · 41 announced
  7. + DiceFair49 devs · median $2.2k · 59 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair81 devs · median $1.4k · 107 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair59 devs · median $1.3k · 71 announced
  10. + Tower DefenseFair28 devs · median $839 · 34 announced
  11. + Artificial IntelligenceFair46 devs · median $719 · 52 announced
  12. + SolitaireFair26 devs · median $450 · 31 announced

All 175 pairs on the Turn-Based Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Thaumaturge 2024 · $4.1M Shadows Over Loathing 2022 · $2.2M Sunday Gold 2022 · $453k Lost Dimension 2017 · $166k To Hell With The Ugly 2023 · $80k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Thaumaturge older $34.99 3,888 81% 117k $4.1M (exactly $4,081,234) Fool's Theory
Shadows Over Loathing older $22.99 3,120 95% 94k $2.2M (exactly $2,151,864) Asymmetric
Sunday Gold older $21.99 687 77% 21k $453k (exactly $453,214) BKOM Studios
Lost Dimension older $24.99 221 72% 6.6k $166k (exactly $165,684) FURYU Corporation
To Hell With The Ugly older $19.99 133 87% 4.0k $80k (exactly $79,760) La Poule Noire, ARTE France
The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time $17.99 146 86% 4.4k $79k (exactly $78,796) Coin Drop Games, Lucas Immanuel, jucobe… (Coin Drop Games, Lucas Immanuel, jucobee, Kyle Chuang)
Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!™ older $19.99 102 71% 3.1k $61k (exactly $61,169) Mousechief
Neon Blood $17.99 73 60% 2.2k $39k (exactly $39,398) ChaoticBrain Studios
The Chronicles of Lancelot GOLD older $24.99 49 65% 1.5k $37k (exactly $36,735) Gayeti
The Allure Of Wanton Cove $9.99 114 78% 3.4k $34k (exactly $34,166) Ktulhu Solutions, Aftermath
Makai Agito $9.99 72 94% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,578) Gumi Bytes, Dani Sugimoto-Lee
Prison Notes $9.99 38 94% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) 闻岚工坊（Vinland Studio）
Sodahazard: Taste Test $9.99 7 85% 210 $2.1k (exactly $2,098) Mechadusto
Critternauts $7.99 1 100% 30 $240 (exactly $240) Gergo V
Beyond The Tales $3.99 2 50% 60 $239 (exactly $239) Atomik Games, Charlie Pelaez
Fragmentary $7.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) OguzhanBozkurtGames

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