Do I ship it?

GamesTurn-Based CombatTurn-Based Combat + Mystery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Turn-Based Combat game?

Turn-Based Combat + Mystery

Of 75 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 206 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $190; 1 in 20 cleared $350k, ×751 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 206 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 206 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Combat + Mystery
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 75
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.8k → $5.7k → $5.1k → $1.9k → $2.2k → $899 → $899 (still earning) → $120 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Combat + Mystery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 75
Bottom 30% $187 (exactly $187)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,389)
Top 5% $357k (exactly $356,822)
Developers, 2 yr 75
Released games 209
Announced 206
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 down 10% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Mystery
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 97% positive over 18,690 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $190, median $900, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $350k.

3 in 10 developers made under $190. 8 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 206 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Combat with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Persona 3 Reload older $59.99 43,497 95% 1.3M $78M (exactly $78,281,551) ATLUS
Persona 4 Golden older $19.99 71,306 97% 2.1M $43M (exactly $42,762,208) ATLUS
WORLD OF HORROR older $19.99 8,991 89% 270k $5.4M (exactly $5,391,903) panstasz
ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game older $14.99 9,991 84% 300k $4.5M (exactly $4,492,953) AtomTeam
Soul Hackers 2 older $59.99 2,300 65% 69k $4.1M (exactly $4,139,310) ATLUS
The Thaumaturge older $34.99 3,888 81% 117k $4.1M (exactly $4,081,234) Fool's Theory
Look Outside $9.99 13,586 98% 408k $4.1M (exactly $4,071,724) Francis Coulombe
ONE PIECE ODYSSEY older $39.99 2,502 78% 75k $3.0M (exactly $3,001,649) ILCA, Inc.
Persona 3 Portable older $19.99 4,728 81% 142k $2.8M (exactly $2,835,382) ATLUS
Crystal Project older $13.99 2,510 91% 75k $1.1M (exactly $1,053,447) Andrew Willman
Wicked Seed $19.99 1,376 94% 41k $825k (exactly $825,187) Dead Right Games
Demonschool $24.99 984 91% 30k $738k (exactly $737,705) Necrosoft Games, Mystic Systems
Deep Sleep: Labyrinth of the Forsaken $19.99 595 94% 18k $357k (exactly $356,822) scriptwelder
NO-SKIN $6.99 1,227 95% 37k $257k (exactly $257,302) NoEye-Soft
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown $19.99 160 89% 4.8k $96k (exactly $95,952) Strange Scaffold
Hermit and Pig $14.99 174 98% 5.2k $78k (exactly $78,248) Heavy Lunch Studio LLC
THE SPIRIT LIFT $19.99 118 94% 3.5k $71k (exactly $70,765) prettysmart games
Alisa's Grimoire $16.99 77 87% 2.3k $39k (exactly $39,247) Circle Kurasuke Warehouse
Bad Bitch Blasters $2.99 393 98% 12k $35k (exactly $35,252) Goiaba Megas Xellox

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