Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Puzzle
Should I ship a Puzzle Turn-Based Combat game?
Turn-Based Combat + Puzzle
Of 138 developers who shipped a Puzzle Turn-Based Combat game 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.. 224 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×2.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×219 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 224 games are announced against 79 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) |
| Top 5% | $104k (exactly $104,162) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 138 |
| Released games | 427 |
| Announced | 224 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Turn-Based Combat
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Puzzle
- effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Turn-Based Combat, Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Adventure
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 7,011 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 70 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 224 games are announced against 79 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Turn-Based Combat with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + WuxiaStrong odds
- + Hack and SlashStrong odds
- + RomeFair
- + CookingFair
- + UndergroundFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DiceFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + SolitaireFair
Comparable games
FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster 2016 · $18M 
Into the Breach 2018 · $8.5M 
ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game 2018 · $4.5M 
West of Loathing 2017 · $3.2M 
Shadows Over Loathing 2022 · $2.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster | older | $29.99 | 19,857 87% | 596k | $18M (exactly $17,865,343) | Square Enix |
| | Into the Breach | older | $14.99 | 19,000 94% | 570k | $8.5M (exactly $8,544,300) | Subset Games |
| | ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game | older | $14.99 | 9,991 84% | 300k | $4.5M (exactly $4,492,953) | AtomTeam |
| | West of Loathing | older | $10.99 | 9,716 97% | 291k | $3.2M (exactly $3,203,365) | Asymmetric |
| | Shadows Over Loathing | older | $22.99 | 3,120 95% | 94k | $2.2M (exactly $2,151,864) | Asymmetric |
 | Unity of Command II | older | $29.99 | 2,042 79% | 61k | $1.8M (exactly $1,837,187) | 2x2 Games, Croteam |
 | OFF | $14.99 | 3,093 95% | 93k | $1.4M (exactly $1,390,922) | Mortis Ghost, Fangamer | |
 | CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION | older | $19.99 | 2,174 62% | 65k | $1.3M (exactly $1,303,748) | Square Enix, D4Enterprise Co.,Ltd. |
 | Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest | older | $24.99 | 1,290 82% | 39k | $967k (exactly $967,113) | Ctrl Alt Ninja Ltd. |
 | Rogue Waters | $29.99 | 955 75% | 29k | $859k (exactly $859,214) | Ice Code Games | |
 | Demonschool | $24.99 | 984 91% | 30k | $738k (exactly $737,705) | Necrosoft Games, Mystic Systems | |
 | Ledgerbound | $29.99 | 562 92% | 17k | $506k (exactly $505,631) | OmniMegaSuperCorp | |
 | Deep Sleep: Labyrinth of the Forsaken | $19.99 | 595 94% | 18k | $357k (exactly $356,822) | scriptwelder | |
 | Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout DX | $39.99 | 257 76% | 7.7k | $308k (exactly $308,323) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
 | Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy DX | $39.99 | 110 85% | 3.3k | $132k (exactly $131,967) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
 | Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key DX | $39.99 | 102 80% | 3.1k | $122k (exactly $122,369) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
 | BroomSweeper | $17.99 | 193 75% | 5.8k | $104k (exactly $104,162) | BandsWithLegends | |
 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown | $19.99 | 160 89% | 4.8k | $96k (exactly $95,952) | Strange Scaffold |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.