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Should I ship a PvP Turn-Based Combat game?
PvP + Turn-Based Combat
Of 165 developers who shipped a PvP 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.. 403 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 403 games are announced against 110 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper, while revenue is up 90% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $598 (exactly $598) |
| Top 25% | $5.0k (exactly $5,033) |
| Top 5% | $55k (exactly $55,172) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 165 |
| Released games | 590 |
| Announced | 403 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 up 90% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 37%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- PvP
- effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
- Turn-Based Combat
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP, Turn-Based Combat; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 4,582 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 94 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 403 games are announced against 110 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
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Comparable games
Temtem 2022 · $42M 
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition 2019 · $16M 
Monster Train 2020 · $15M 
For The King II 2023 · $9.5M 
Monster Sanctuary 2020 · $6.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Temtem | older | $44.99 | 31,263 82% | 938k | $42M (exactly $42,195,671) | Crema |
| | Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition | older | $49.99 | 10,810 89% | 324k | $16M (exactly $16,211,757) | h.a.n.d., Inc., Media.Vision Inc. |
| | Monster Train | older | $24.99 | 19,950 95% | 599k | $15M (exactly $14,956,515) | Shiny Shoe |
| | For The King II | older | $24.99 | 12,708 71% | 381k | $9.5M (exactly $9,527,188) | IronOak Games |
| | Monster Sanctuary | older | $19.99 | 10,416 91% | 312k | $6.2M (exactly $6,246,475) | moi rai games |
 | Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector | older | $39.99 | 5,064 88% | 152k | $6.1M (exactly $6,075,281) | Slitherine Ltd. |
 | Coromon | older | $19.99 | 6,327 85% | 190k | $3.8M (exactly $3,794,302) | TRAGsoft |
 | Millennia | older | $39.99 | 2,976 67% | 89k | $3.6M (exactly $3,570,307) | C Prompt Games |
 | Disciples: Liberation | older | $39.99 | 2,706 73% | 81k | $3.2M (exactly $3,246,388) | Frima Studio |
 | Gordian Quest | older | $19.99 | 5,259 88% | 158k | $3.2M (exactly $3,153,822) | Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holding… (Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holdings Pte Ltd) |
 | ZEPHON | $39.99 | 1,838 83% | 55k | $2.2M (exactly $2,205,049) | Proxy Studios | |
 | Wretch: Divine Ascent | $14.99 | 975 75% | 29k | $438k (exactly $438,458) | Ogopogo | |
 | Warside | $24.99 | 547 68% | 16k | $410k (exactly $410,086) | LAVABIRD | |
 | Scramble: Battle of Britain | · EA | $29.99 | 209 88% | 6.3k | $188k (exactly $188,037) | Slitherine Ltd. |
 | Glorious Companions | $19.99 | 182 61% | 5.5k | $109k (exactly $109,145) | Ancient Forge | |
 | Fuckstone | $11.99 | 217 88% | 6.5k | $78k (exactly $78,055) | Anime Mania | |
 | Water Margin Scrolls | $9.99 | 244 40% | 7.3k | $73k (exactly $73,127) | QingHe Games | |
 | Yomi 2 | $19.99 | 104 92% | 3.1k | $62k (exactly $62,369) | Sirlin Games | |
 | Infinity: HexaDome Tactics | $19.99 | 92 75% | 2.8k | $55k (exactly $55,172) | Blindspot Games | |
 | Emperor of the Fading Suns Enhanced | $9.99 | 174 95% | 5.2k | $52k (exactly $52,148) | Holistic Design, Inc. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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