Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Tactics › Turn-Based Tactics + Political Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Political Sim Turn-Based Tactics?

Turn-Based Tactics + Political Sim

Of 34 developers who shipped a Political Sim 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.. 53 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $750k, ×1205 the market median. Revenue is up 875% on the market; 53 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 875% on the market, 53 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Tactics + Political Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.8k → $58k → $9.0k → $750 → $450 → $3.0k (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Tactics + Political Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,728)
Top 5% $757k (exactly $757,042)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 78
Announced 53
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 875% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Political Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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, Political Sim; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Tactical, Turn-Based Strategy
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 51% positive over 48,421 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $750k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Tactics with a different second tag, 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

Sid Meier's Civilization VII 2025 · $94M Ancient Warfare: The Han Dynasty 2023 · EA · $871k Twilight Struggle 2016 · $770k Politics The Game 2025 · $757k Lawgivers II 2023 · EA · $424k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sid Meier's Civilization VII $69.99 44,789 48% 1.3M $94M (exactly $94,043,463) Firaxis Games
Ancient Warfare: The Han Dynasty · EA older $16.99 1,708 69% 51k $871k (exactly $870,568) 不秋草游戏工作室(Bamboo Games)
Twilight Struggle older $9.99 2,568 86% 77k $770k (exactly $769,630) Playdek, Inc.
Politics The Game $9.99 2,526 95% 76k $757k (exactly $757,042) Simplicity Games
Lawgivers II · EA older $24.99 565 73% 17k $424k (exactly $423,580) Damian Bernardi
King Of The Castle older $9.99 1,403 90% 42k $420k (exactly $420,479) Tributary Games
NationWar2:Chronicle $16.99 378 78% 11k $193k (exactly $192,667) Yiming
Prime Monster $19.99 308 83% 9.2k $185k (exactly $184,708) Cavalier Game Studios
This Is the President older $14.99 359 67% 11k $161k (exactly $161,442) SuperPAC
Evil Democracy: 1932 older $11.99 413 75% 12k $149k (exactly $148,556) Hamsters Gaming
Bonaparte - A Mechanized Revolution $24.99 72 68% 2.2k $54k (exactly $53,978) Studio Imugi
Global Protocol: New World Order · EA $19.99 85 71% 2.6k $51k (exactly $50,974) Dorlion Interactive
Three Kingdoms Classic $12.99 127 88% 3.8k $49k (exactly $49,492) SEEAT
Rise of Atom $19.99 29 79% 870 $17k (exactly $17,391) Glass Bubble Software
QSVT: ¡Que se vayan todos! $6.99 75 88% 2.3k $16k (exactly $15,728) Sendero tecnológico
Epoch of Guardians $11.99 32 81% 960 $12k (exactly $11,510) 伊洛维游戏

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