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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.
| 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.
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
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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