Do I ship it?

GamesOpen WorldOpen World + Turn-Based

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Turn-Based Open World game?

Open World + Turn-Based

Only 14 developers shipped a Turn-Based Open World 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, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 26 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $57k, ×38 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $17k; 1 in 20 cleared $11M, ×7856 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 26 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 37.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 26 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Open World + Turn-Based
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $24M → $1.2M → $66k → $113k → $17k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Open World + Turn-Based: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $17k (exactly $16,546)
Median $57k (exactly $56,662)
Top 25% $151k (exactly $151,124)
Top 5% $12M (exactly $11,768,818)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 167
Announced 26
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $19.99

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 75% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Open World
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Turn-Based
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Open World, Turn-Based; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Turn-Based Combat, Character Customization
Price point
$19.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Pixel Graphics, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $19.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 18,864 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $17k, median $57k, 1 in 4 over $150k, 1 in 20 over $11M.

3 in 10 developers made under $17k. 2 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Open World with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $634k · 17 announced
  2. + 4 Player LocalFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $23k · 21 announced
  4. + TrainsFair27 devs · median $21k · 25 announced
  5. + FMVFair11 devs · median $14k · 13 announced
  6. + GothicFair25 devs · median $5.4k · 32 announced
  7. + MarsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  8. + TanksFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  9. + FaithLong shot11 devs · median $716 · 14 announced
  10. + DiplomacyPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8M · 38 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  12. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds17 devs · median $267k · 65 announced

All 240 pairs on the Open World page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
South Park™: The Stick of Truth™ older $29.99 60,770 97% 1.8M $55M (exactly $54,674,769) Obsidian Entertainment
Wartales older $34.99 32,118 86% 964k $34M (exactly $33,714,265) Shiro Games
HUMANKIND™ older $49.99 22,165 68% 665k $33M (exactly $33,240,850) AMPLITUDE Studios
Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition older $39.99 27,485 88% 825k $33M (exactly $32,973,754) Larian Studios
South Park™: The Fractured But Whole™ older $29.99 31,985 85% 960k $29M (exactly $28,776,904) Ubisoft San Francisco
Wandering Sword older $24.99 37,034 94% 1.1M $28M (exactly $27,764,390) The Swordman Studio
Stoneshard · EA older $24.99 34,149 74% 1.0M $26M (exactly $25,601,505) Ink Stains Games
OCTOPATH TRAVELER™ older $59.99 13,923 85% 418k $25M (exactly $25,057,223) Square Enix, ACQUIRE Corp.
OCTOPATH TRAVELER II older $59.99 13,407 93% 402k $24M (exactly $24,128,578) Square Enix, ACQUIRE Corp.
ENDLESS Space™ 2 older $39.99 17,280 83% 518k $21M (exactly $20,730,816) AMPLITUDE Studios
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection $69.99 5,605 77% 168k $12M (exactly $11,768,818) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Caves of Qud $29.99 11,892 94% 357k $11M (exactly $10,699,232) Freehold Games
NITRO GEN OMEGA $29.99 398 83% 12k $358k (exactly $358,081) DESTINYbit
Chaos Front $19.99 252 59% 7.6k $151k (exactly $151,124) Han Zhiyu
The Edge of Allegoria $19.99 188 87% 5.6k $113k (exactly $112,744) Button Factory Games
Glorious Companions $19.99 182 61% 5.5k $109k (exactly $109,145) Ancient Forge
Tomomon $14.99 126 70% 3.8k $57k (exactly $56,662) ManicBuild Studio
Lords of Ravage $9.99 138 66% 4.1k $41k (exactly $41,359) Synthetic Domain
KAMiBAKO - Mythology of Cube - $29.99 37 64% 1.1k $33k (exactly $33,289) GRAVITY GAME ARISE
Ruinlander · EA $11.99 46 69% 1.4k $17k (exactly $16,546) wineviper

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