Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Robots

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Robot Turn-Based Combat game?

Turn-Based Combat + Robots

Of 36 developers who shipped a Robot 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.. 65 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.2k, ×5.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×2094 the market median. Revenue is up 1530% on the market; 65 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 1530% on the market, 65 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Combat + Robots
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $299 → $4.9k → $3.4k → $3.1k → $17k → $52k (still earning) → $27k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Combat + Robots: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $3.2k (exactly $3,235)
Top 25% $52k (exactly $51,716)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,314,868)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 103
Announced 65
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 1530% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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 Combat
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Robots
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 Combat; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Turn-Based Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 6,467 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $3.2k, 1 in 4 over $51k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 65 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + WuxiaStrong odds20 devs · median $19k · 21 announced
  2. + Hack and SlashStrong odds28 devs · median $3.7k · 27 announced
  3. + RomeFair8 devs · median $16k · 13 announced
  4. + CookingFair15 devs · median $6.0k · 22 announced
  5. + UndergroundFair18 devs · median $4.2k · 29 announced
  6. + IdlerFair52 devs · median $4.0k · 41 announced
  7. + DiceFair49 devs · median $2.2k · 59 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair81 devs · median $1.4k · 107 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair59 devs · median $1.3k · 71 announced
  10. + Tower DefenseFair28 devs · median $839 · 34 announced
  11. + Artificial IntelligenceFair46 devs · median $719 · 52 announced
  12. + SolitaireFair26 devs · median $450 · 31 announced

All 175 pairs on the Turn-Based Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2018 · $10M Super Robot Wars 30 2021 · $10M Phantom Brigade 2023 · $4.0M Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus II 2026 · $2.5M SteamWorld Heist 2016 · $1.9M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus older $29.99 11,279 91% 338k $10M (exactly $10,147,716) Bulwark Studios
Super Robot Wars 30 older $59.99 5,608 85% 168k $10M (exactly $10,092,718) Bandai Namco Forge Digitals Inc.
Phantom Brigade older $29.99 4,412 81% 132k $4.0M (exactly $3,969,476) Brace Yourself Games
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus II $39.99 2,088 53% 63k $2.5M (exactly $2,504,974) Bulwark Studios
SteamWorld Heist older $14.99 4,232 93% 127k $1.9M (exactly $1,903,130) Image & Form Games
SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech older $24.99 1,953 87% 59k $1.5M (exactly $1,464,164) Image & Form Games
Artis Impact $18.99 2,308 84% 69k $1.3M (exactly $1,314,868) Mas
The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II $59.99 669 83% 20k $1.2M (exactly $1,203,999) Nihon Falcom, PH3 GmbH
FRONT MISSION 2: Remake older $34.99 349 57% 10k $366k (exactly $366,345) Storm Trident S.A.
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
Twilight Wars $14.99 229 74% 6.9k $103k (exactly $102,981) Comrade Bear Games
Roulette Hero $9.99 260 92% 7.8k $78k (exactly $77,922) CLLC Studio
STARBITES $49.99 42 64% 1.3k $63k (exactly $62,987) IKINAGAMES
ACE Strategy: Mecha Nova $14.99 115 78% 3.5k $52k (exactly $51,716) EMINA STUDIO
Void Marauders $13.99 106 77% 3.2k $44k (exactly $44,488) Autarca

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