Games › Turn-Based Strategy › Turn-Based Strategy + Investigation
Should I ship an Investigation Turn-Based Strategy?
Turn-Based Strategy + Investigation
Only 12 developers shipped an Investigation Turn-Based Strategy 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, Anoxia Station, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 33 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 $1.4k, ×2.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $80k, ×128 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 33 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,363) |
| Top 25% | $6.9k (exactly $6,924) |
| Top 5% | $80k (exactly $80,496) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 39 |
| Announced | 33 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.62 |
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 200% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 21%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Turn-Based Strategy, Investigation
- Price point
- $7.62 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 303 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Turn-Based Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + WuxiaFair
- + Cold WarFair
- + RomeFair
- + LootFair
- + MiningFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + TanksFair
- + SokobanFair
- + Top-Down ShooterFair
- + SpaceFair
Comparable games
Shadows Over Loathing 2022 · $2.2M 
Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition 2018 · $1.6M 
Sigma Theory: Global Cold War 2019 · $481k 
Midnight Protocol 2021 · $107k 
Anoxia Station 2025 · $80k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Shadows Over Loathing | older | $22.99 | 3,120 95% | 94k | $2.2M (exactly $2,151,864) | Asymmetric |
| | Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition | older | $16.99 | 3,096 88% | 93k | $1.6M (exactly $1,578,031) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
| | Sigma Theory: Global Cold War | older | $17.99 | 892 77% | 27k | $481k (exactly $481,412) | Mi-Clos Studio, Goblinz Studio, FibreTi… (Mi-Clos Studio, Goblinz Studio, FibreTigre) |
| | Midnight Protocol | older | $14.99 | 237 87% | 7.1k | $107k (exactly $106,579) | LuGus Studios |
| | Anoxia Station | $14.99 | 179 76% | 5.4k | $80k (exactly $80,496) | Bonereaders | |
 | The Magister | older | $14.99 | 103 91% | 3.1k | $46k (exactly $46,319) | Nerdook Productions |
 | The Shadow Government Simulator | older | $9.99 | 100 75% | 3.0k | $30k (exactly $29,970) | Chupacabra Game Studios |
 | Makai Agito | $9.99 | 72 94% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $21,578) | Gumi Bytes, Dani Sugimoto-Lee | |
 | Welcome to Goodland | older | $16.99 | 21 61% | 630 | $11k (exactly $10,704) | Big City Lab |
 | Paracom | $10.99 | 21 90% | 630 | $6.9k (exactly $6,924) | Steel Widow Klan | |
 | Detective 26 | $7.62 | 15 80% | 450 | $3.4k (exactly $3,429) | TestOneDev | |
 | Hexa's Gone | $9.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) | DevloCore | |
 | Hollow INN | $6.49 | 7 85% | 210 | $1.4k (exactly $1,363) | Nussygame | |
 | Caduceus Quest | $6.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $210 (exactly $210) | Resilient Games Studio, LLC | |
 | ZeroOne Terminal | $4.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | Jolt | |
 | Silent Howl | $3.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $120 (exactly $120) | Yorbi | |
 | Yorvik's Game | $1.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $60 (exactly $60) | Firewake///Trails |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.