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Should I ship a Metroidvania Turn-Based Combat game?
Metroidvania + Turn-Based Combat
Only 9 developers shipped a Metroidvania 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, Journey of Realm：Dawn Dew, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.3k, ×20 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $730k, ×1550 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 22 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $899 (exactly $899) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.3k (exactly $9,281) |
| Top 25% | $59k (exactly $58,911) |
| Top 5% | $736k (exactly $736,220) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 9 |
| Released games | 27 |
| Announced | 22 |
| 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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 250% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Metroidvania
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Turn-Based Combat
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Metroidvania, Turn-Based Combat
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
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 $19.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 19,573 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 22 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ParkourPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + VampiresPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
Monster Sanctuary 2020 · $6.2M 
Indivisible 2019 · $1.5M 
Crystal Project 2022 · $1.1M 
Worldless 2023 · $934k 
Journey of Realm：Dawn Dew 2025 · $736k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Monster Sanctuary | older | $19.99 | 10,416 91% | 312k | $6.2M (exactly $6,246,475) | moi rai games |
| | Indivisible | older | $19.99 | 2,458 72% | 74k | $1.5M (exactly $1,474,063) | Lab Zero Games |
| | Crystal Project | older | $13.99 | 2,510 91% | 75k | $1.1M (exactly $1,053,447) | Andrew Willman |
| | Worldless | older | $19.99 | 1,558 94% | 47k | $934k (exactly $934,333) | Noname Studios |
| | Journey of Realm：Dawn Dew | $10.99 | 2,233 97% | 67k | $736k (exactly $736,220) | 葱色兔兔/Scallion Rabbit | |
 | Paper Animal Adventure | · EA | $14.99 | 139 95% | 4.2k | $63k (exactly $62,508) | Cuddling Raccoons Studio |
 | Lord Ambermaze | $14.99 | 131 91% | 3.9k | $59k (exactly $58,911) | Potata Company | |
 | Tropicalia: a Brazilian Game | older | $14.99 | 61 90% | 1.8k | $27k (exactly $27,432) | Paulo Henrique Franqueira |
 | FROGUE | older | $11.99 | 34 91% | 1.0k | $12k (exactly $12,230) | Wired Dreams Studio |
 | DEATH PENALTY | $11.99 | 33 84% | 990 | $12k (exactly $11,870) | HACKJOB | |
 | CorgiSpace | $4.99 | 62 96% | 1.9k | $9.3k (exactly $9,281) | Adam Saltsman | |
 | Sahir: Shiv of Memories | $8.80 | 21 85% | 630 | $5.5k (exactly $5,544) | HCY Games | |
 | Dream Dazia | $9.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $899 (exactly $899) | CosmoRetro Studios LLC | |
 | Glyphscape | $6.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $629 (exactly $629) | Geouug | |
 | Critternauts | $7.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $240 (exactly $240) | Gergo V |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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