Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Logic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Logic Turn-Based Combat game?

Turn-Based Combat + Logic

Of 58 developers who shipped a Logic Turn-Based Combat game 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.. 95 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $630, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×219 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 95 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 95 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Combat + Logic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 58
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $539 → $1.2k → $300 → $150 → $239 → $5.5k → $809 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Combat + Logic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 58
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $628 (exactly $628)
Top 25% $5.5k (exactly $5,513)
Top 5% $104k (exactly $104,162)
Developers, 2 yr 58
Released games 144
Announced 95
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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: 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
Logic
effort 2 / 10 · high · deductive rules and grids

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, Logic; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Tactical
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 2,544 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $630, 1 in 4 over $5.5k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 95 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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

XCOM® 2 2016 · $48M Cobalt Core 2023 · $2.4M GWENT: Rogue Mage (Single-Player Expansion) 2022 · $379k Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics 2019 · $215k Let's! Revolution! 2023 · $190k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
XCOM® 2 older $19.99 79,998 84% 2.4M $48M (exactly $47,974,801) Firaxis Games, Feral Interactive (Mac),… (Firaxis Games, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux))
Cobalt Core older $19.99 4,067 95% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,438,980) Rocket Rat Games
GWENT: Rogue Mage (Single-Player Expansion) older $9.99 1,266 54% 38k $379k (exactly $379,420) CD PROJEKT RED
Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics older $19.99 358 75% 11k $215k (exactly $214,693) Tortuga Team
Let's! Revolution! older $19.99 317 92% 9.5k $190k (exactly $190,105) BUCK Games, Antfood
Master of Chess $19.99 290 83% 8.7k $174k (exactly $173,913) BRANE
Wordatro! $9.99 401 85% 12k $120k (exactly $120,180) Le Poulet
BroomSweeper $17.99 193 75% 5.8k $104k (exactly $104,162) BandsWithLegends
小小侠客模拟器 $2.99 1,103 86% 33k $99k (exactly $98,939) 小小游戏
Fire & Maneuver older $9.99 281 68% 8.4k $84k (exactly $84,216) Armchair Interactive, Targon Studios
868-BACK $19.99 122 98% 3.7k $73k (exactly $73,163) Michael Brough
Lord Ambermaze $14.99 131 91% 3.9k $59k (exactly $58,911) Potata Company
Future War Tactics: SOF vs Alien Invasion – Turn-Based Strategy $9.99 138 60% 4.1k $41k (exactly $41,359) QuadCom Interactive
Mirklurk: Every Step Matters · EA $11.99 101 95% 3.0k $36k (exactly $36,330) Edym Pixels
Fritz Chess 20 Steam Edition $54.99 15 46% 450 $25k (exactly $24,746) ChessBase GmbH
Yes, My Queen $12.99 50 82% 1.5k $19k (exactly $19,485) Wall Spaghetti

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