Games › Turn-Based Strategy › Turn-Based Strategy + Lovecraftian
Should I ship a Lovecraftian Turn-Based Strategy?
Turn-Based Strategy + Lovecraftian
Of 29 developers who shipped a Lovecraftian Turn-Based Strategy 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.. 59 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $11k, ×17 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $5.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $990k, ×1580 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 59 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $4.9k (exactly $4,940) |
|---|---|
| Median | $11k (exactly $10,793) |
| Top 25% | $123k (exactly $122,938) |
| Top 5% | $992k (exactly $992,499) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 65 |
| Announced | 59 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $10.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Lovecraftian
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Turn-Based Strategy; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Turn-Based Combat
- Price point
- $10.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 6,222 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $5.0k. 4 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Turn-Based Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + WuxiaFair
- + Cold WarFair
- + RomeFair
- + LootFair
- + MiningFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + TanksFair
- + SokobanFair
- + Top-Down ShooterFair
- + SpaceFair
Comparable games
Darkest Dungeon® II 2023 · $29M 
Curious Expedition 2 2021 · $2.3M 
ZEPHON 2024 · $2.2M 
Shadows Over Loathing 2022 · $2.2M 
Curious Expedition 2016 · $1.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Darkest Dungeon® II | older | $39.99 | 24,249 74% | 727k | $29M (exactly $29,091,525) | Red Hook Studios |
| | Curious Expedition 2 | older | $19.99 | 3,861 88% | 116k | $2.3M (exactly $2,315,442) | Maschinen-Mensch |
| | ZEPHON | $39.99 | 1,838 83% | 55k | $2.2M (exactly $2,205,049) | Proxy Studios | |
| | Shadows Over Loathing | older | $22.99 | 3,120 95% | 94k | $2.2M (exactly $2,151,864) | Asymmetric |
| | Curious Expedition | older | $14.99 | 3,951 91% | 119k | $1.8M (exactly $1,776,765) | Maschinen-Mensch |
 | SKALD: Against the Black Priory | older | $14.99 | 3,325 93% | 100k | $1.5M (exactly $1,495,252) | High North Studios AS |
 | Decktamer | $15.99 | 2,069 86% | 62k | $992k (exactly $992,499) | Horizon Edge | |
 | Shadows of Forbidden Gods | older | $19.99 | 1,046 91% | 31k | $627k (exactly $627,286) | Bobby Two Hands |
 | The Shrouded Isle | older | $12.99 | 1,166 71% | 35k | $454k (exactly $454,390) | Jongwoo Kim, Erica Lahaie, FX Bilodeau,… (Jongwoo Kim, Erica Lahaie, FX Bilodeau, Tanya Short) |
 | Inkshade | $19.99 | 620 87% | 19k | $372k (exactly $371,814) | Studio Vezelle | |
 | Railroads & Catacombs | $19.99 | 358 73% | 11k | $215k (exactly $214,693) | MadRails | |
 | Starless Abyss | $19.99 | 296 83% | 8.9k | $178k (exactly $177,511) | Konafa Games | |
 | Nightmare Frontier | $24.99 | 187 69% | 5.6k | $140k (exactly $140,194) | Ice Code Games | |
 | Whispers of the Eyeless | $19.99 | 226 74% | 6.8k | $136k (exactly $135,532) | Venris, Evil Gingerbread Studio | |
 | Hunter's Moon: A Sovereign Syndicate Adventure | $19.99 | 205 83% | 6.2k | $123k (exactly $122,938) | Crimson Herring Studios | |
 | Gods vs Horrors | $14.99 | 254 75% | 7.6k | $114k (exactly $114,224) | Oriol Cosp Games | |
 | Divine's Howl | $9.99 | 169 89% | 5.1k | $51k (exactly $50,649) | Sense13 Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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