Do I ship it?

GamesTurn-Based TacticsTurn-Based Tactics + Pirates

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Pirate Turn-Based Tactics?

Turn-Based Tactics + Pirates

Of 23 developers who shipped a Pirate Turn-Based Tactics 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.. 34 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×357 the market median. Revenue is up 1700% on the market; 34 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 1700% on the market, 34 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Tactics + Pirates
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $69k → $240 → $3.4k → $898 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Tactics + Pirates: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $27k (exactly $27,014)
Top 5% $224k (exactly $224,078)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 52
Announced 34
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.49

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 1700% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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 Tactics
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Pirates
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Tactics; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Turn-Based Combat
Price point
$7.49 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Isometric, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.49.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 1,989 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 $900, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + TanksFair24 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  2. + AutomationFair28 devs · median $2.9k · 36 announced
  3. + ProgrammingFair14 devs · median $2.4k · 16 announced
  4. + DiceFair47 devs · median $1.6k · 53 announced
  5. + MiningFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 8 announced
  6. + Time ManagementFair65 devs · median $1.4k · 69 announced
  7. + IdlerFair47 devs · median $1.3k · 48 announced
  8. + Psychological HorrorFair55 devs · median $1.0k · 56 announced
  9. + Traditional RoguelikeFair78 devs · median $629 · 95 announced
  10. + PsychologicalFair34 devs · median $629 · 40 announced
  11. + PuzzleFair263 devs · median $598 · 308 announced
  12. + PlatformerLong shot15 devs · median $360 · 18 announced

All 189 pairs on the Turn-Based Tactics page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Port Royale 4 older $39.99 1,405 56% 42k $1.7M (exactly $1,685,578) Gaming Minds
Rogue Waters $29.99 955 75% 29k $859k (exactly $859,214) Ice Code Games
Horizon's Gate older $19.99 1,213 94% 36k $727k (exactly $727,436) Rad Codex
Braveland Pirate older $19.99 421 87% 13k $252k (exactly $252,474) Tortuga Team
Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption older $29.99 280 90% 8.4k $252k (exactly $251,916) Transolar Games
Dead Weight $12.99 575 82% 17k $224k (exactly $224,078) Klukva Games
Dead Man's Draw older $6.99 439 83% 13k $92k (exactly $92,058) Stardock Entertainment
Flint: Treasure of Oblivion $24.99 92 51% 2.8k $69k (exactly $68,972) Savage Level
Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown older $19.99 110 77% 3.3k $66k (exactly $65,967) Tin Man Games, Zero One Studio
Pirates Outlaws 2: Heritage · EA $14.99 105 60% 3.2k $47k (exactly $47,218) Fabled Game
Void Marauders $13.99 106 77% 3.2k $44k (exactly $44,488) Autarca
Red Rogue Sea $16.99 53 64% 1.6k $27k (exactly $27,014) Firemage Studios
HoloSeeker $3.99 66 89% 2.0k $7.9k (exactly $7,900) Imoyokan
Sunken Stones $11.99 14 100% 420 $5.0k (exactly $5,036) Spritewrench
Artemis Pearl ~Pirate Princess Luvina and the Mystical Treasure~ $16.99 7 85% 210 $3.6k (exactly $3,568) とらいあんぐる!
This Be Mutiny $6.99 16 87% 480 $3.4k (exactly $3,355) Goodberry Games

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