Do I ship it?

GamesTurn-Based StrategyTurn-Based Strategy + Mystery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + Mystery

Of 63 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 130 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $810, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×201 the market median. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 130 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 130 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Strategy + Mystery
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 63
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $599 → $2.2k → $538 → $1.3k → $539 → $1.4k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + Mystery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 63
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $809 (exactly $809)
Top 25% $4.5k (exactly $4,492)
Top 5% $126k (exactly $126,366)
Developers, 2 yr 63
Released games 147
Announced 130
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 170% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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 Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Strategy; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Turn-Based Combat, RPG, Roguelike
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Comedy
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 3,858 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $810, 1 in 4 over $4.4k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 130 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $19k · 17 announced
  2. + Cold WarFair18 devs · median $9.9k · 22 announced
  3. + RomeFair15 devs · median $9.0k · 18 announced
  4. + LootFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  5. + MiningFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  6. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $3.7k · 12 announced
  7. + IdlerFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  8. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  9. + TanksFair25 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  10. + SokobanFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  11. + Top-Down ShooterFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  12. + SpaceFair107 devs · median $1.5k · 143 announced

All 187 pairs on the Turn-Based Strategy 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
Tactical Breach Wizards older $19.99 11,485 97% 345k $6.9M (exactly $6,887,554) Suspicious Developments
Digimon Survive older $59.99 3,124 78% 94k $5.6M (exactly $5,622,263) HYDE, Inc.
Persona 3 Portable older $19.99 4,728 81% 142k $2.8M (exactly $2,835,382) ATLUS
Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition older $16.99 3,096 88% 93k $1.6M (exactly $1,578,031) Marmalade Game Studio Ltd
Crystal Project older $13.99 2,510 91% 75k $1.1M (exactly $1,053,447) Andrew Willman
Demonschool $24.99 984 91% 30k $738k (exactly $737,705) Necrosoft Games, Mystic Systems
YIIK: A Postmodern RPG older $19.99 1,006 80% 30k $603k (exactly $603,298) Ackk Studios
Iris and the Giant older $17.99 698 87% 21k $377k (exactly $376,711) Louis Rigaud
NO-SKIN $6.99 1,227 95% 37k $257k (exactly $257,302) NoEye-Soft
The Succession of Changing Kings $9.99 487 86% 15k $146k (exactly $145,954) KwaKwaGames
Deified · EA $14.99 281 96% 8.4k $126k (exactly $126,366) Unexpected
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown $19.99 160 89% 4.8k $96k (exactly $95,952) Strange Scaffold
Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime $16.99 143 98% 4.3k $73k (exactly $72,887) Bonte Avond
Bad Bitch Blasters $2.99 393 98% 12k $35k (exactly $35,252) Goiaba Megas Xellox
Dreamcards $9.99 82 98% 2.5k $25k (exactly $24,575) Soneka Games
Makai Agito $9.99 72 94% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,578) Gumi Bytes, Dani Sugimoto-Lee
Dissimilar $18.99 29 89% 870 $17k (exactly $16,521) Opal Grave Games

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