Do I ship it?

GamesTurn-Based TacticsTurn-Based Tactics + Life Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Life Sim Turn-Based Tactics?

Turn-Based Tactics + Life Sim

Of 41 developers who shipped a Life Sim 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.. 49 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $470k, ×763 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 49 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 49 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Tactics + Life Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 41
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $30 → $58k → $4.8k → $116k → $359 → $8.8k → $12k (still earning) → $628 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Tactics + Life Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 41
Bottom 30% $597 (exactly $597)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,575)
Top 5% $479k (exactly $479,380)
Developers, 2 yr 41
Released games 76
Announced 49
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 55% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Life Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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, Life Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Time Management
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 6,001 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 $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $470k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 49 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
60 Seconds! Reatomized older $9.99 18,362 94% 551k $5.5M (exactly $5,503,091) Robot Gentleman
Punch Club 2: Fast Forward older $19.99 3,808 81% 114k $2.3M (exactly $2,283,658) Lazy Bear Games
Bloomtown: A Different Story $24.99 1,428 85% 43k $1.1M (exactly $1,070,572) Lazy Bear Games, Different Sense Games
60 Parsecs! older $9.99 3,310 90% 99k $992k (exactly $992,007) Robot Gentleman
Politics The Game $9.99 2,526 95% 76k $757k (exactly $757,042) Simplicity Games
Consume Me $14.99 1,066 91% 32k $479k (exactly $479,380) Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee… (Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken "coda" Snyder)
Escort Simulator older $19.99 215 61% 6.5k $129k (exactly $128,935) Somavision Games
Esports History $9.99 387 77% 12k $116k (exactly $115,984) Quantum Gear Studios
Virtual Ties: Isekaijoucho Träumerei $34.99 93 91% 2.8k $98k (exactly $97,622) ENTERGRAM,INC.
Laptop Tycoon older $7.99 400 74% 12k $96k (exactly $95,880) Roastery Games
Song's Fantasy $7.99 229 55% 6.9k $55k (exactly $54,891) 南十字座工作室
Sky Realm Idle $6.99 115 73% 3.5k $24k (exactly $24,116) 323Game
SELF MADE: Investment Life Sim $14.99 52 84% 1.6k $23k (exactly $23,384) Billmeade Gaming
Lucky Lord: The Coin Pusher of Fate $7.99 83 77% 2.5k $20k (exactly $19,895) Star Seeker Studio
Splash Shot Golf Legend $19.99 22 54% 660 $13k (exactly $13,193) TANUKIHOUSE

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