Games › Turn-Based Strategy › Turn-Based Strategy + Modern
Should I ship a Modern-Day Turn-Based Strategy?
Turn-Based Strategy + Modern
Of 34 developers who shipped a Modern-Day 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.. 51 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $64k, ×103 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 51 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,348) |
| Top 25% | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) |
| Top 5% | $65k (exactly $64,789) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 34 |
| Released games | 86 |
| Announced | 51 |
| 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 down 20% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- Modern
- 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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Game, Combat
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 809 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Democracy 4 | older | $29.99 | 5,891 81% | 177k | $5.3M (exactly $5,300,133) | Positech Games |
| | Combat Mission Black Sea | older | $59.99 | 422 81% | 13k | $759k (exactly $759,473) | Battlefront |
| | Realpolitiks II | older | $24.99 | 537 46% | 16k | $403k (exactly $402,589) | Jujubee S.A. |
| | GOAL! The Club Manager | · EA older | $29.99 | 364 33% | 11k | $327k (exactly $327,491) | 2tainment |
| | Combat Mission Cold War | older | $59.99 | 156 60% | 4.7k | $281k (exactly $280,753) | Battlefront |
| | Carrier Battles 4 Guadalcanal - Pacific War Naval Warfare | older | $29.99 | 305 87% | 9.2k | $274k (exactly $274,408) | Cyril Jarnot |
| | 大千世界 | older | $3.99 | 2,289 86% | 69k | $274k (exactly $273,993) | 滑稽工作室 |
| | The Political Machine 2024 | older | $19.99 | 255 74% | 7.7k | $153k (exactly $152,924) | Stardock Entertainment |
| | Black Gold - Shining Town | $13.99 | 255 80% | 7.7k | $107k (exactly $107,024) | Morexingame | |
| | Lock 'n Load Tactical Digital: Core Game | · EA older | $4.99 | 566 82% | 17k | $85k (exactly $84,730) | Lock 'n Load Publishing |
| | 大戦略SSB2 | $59.99 | 36 66% | 1.1k | $65k (exactly $64,789) | Systemsoft beta, Inc. | |
| | Yomi 2 | $19.99 | 104 92% | 3.1k | $62k (exactly $62,369) | Sirlin Games | |
| | Lunchbreak Tactics | $14.99 | 124 76% | 3.7k | $56k (exactly $55,763) | Borealys Games | |
| | 2 Fights in 2 Tight Spaces | · EA | $12.99 | 115 84% | 3.5k | $45k (exactly $44,816) | Ground Shatter |
| | Makai Agito | $9.99 | 72 94% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $21,578) | Gumi Bytes, Dani Sugimoto-Lee | |
| | Business War: ERP Sandbox Simulation | $15.99 | 33 84% | 990 | $16k (exactly $15,830) | 夜与潜伏者 | |
| | Games Tycoon | $5.99 | 39 53% | 1.2k | $7.0k (exactly $7,008) | Insignis Games | |
| | okey.gg | · EA | $9.99 | 16 50% | 480 | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) | yilmaz.games |
| | Sim: Heavyweight Boxing Champion | $9.99 | 15 93% | 450 | $4.5k (exactly $4,496) | Jfsimgames |
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.