Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Strategy › Turn-Based Strategy + Robots

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Robot Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + Robots

Of 40 developers who shipped a Robot Turn-Based Strategy 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.. 57 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.7k, ×11 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.5M, ×3989 the market median. Revenue is up 1390% on the market; 57 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 1390% on the market, 57 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Strategy + Robots
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $782k → $0 → $419 → $2.4k → $3.2k → $29k → $63k (still earning) → $2.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + Robots: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $1.7k (exactly $1,679)
Median $6.7k (exactly $6,746)
Top 25% $78k (exactly $77,922)
Top 5% $2.5M (exactly $2,504,974)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 114
Announced 57
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $14.99

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 1390% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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 Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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 Strategy; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics, RPG
Price point
$14.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 24,101 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.7k, median $6.7k, 1 in 4 over $77k, 1 in 20 over $2.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 7 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $19k · 17 announced
  2. + Cold WarFair18 devs · median $9.9k · 22 announced
  3. + RomeFair15 devs · median $9.0k · 18 announced
  4. + LootFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  5. + MiningFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  6. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $3.7k · 12 announced
  7. + IdlerFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  8. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  9. + TanksFair25 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  10. + SokobanFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  11. + Top-Down ShooterFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  12. + SpaceFair107 devs · median $1.5k · 143 announced

All 187 pairs on the Turn-Based Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

BATTLETECH 2018 · $28M SD GUNDAM G GENERATION CROSS RAYS 2019 · $12M Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2018 · $10M Super Robot Wars 30 2021 · $10M Mechabellum 2024 · $8.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BATTLETECH older $39.99 23,024 84% 691k $28M (exactly $27,621,893) Harebrained Schemes
SD GUNDAM G GENERATION CROSS RAYS older $59.99 6,939 82% 208k $12M (exactly $12,488,118) TOM CREATE, 株式会社トムクリエイト
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.
Mechabellum $14.99 17,856 84% 536k $8.0M (exactly $8,029,843) Game River
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
Miasma Chronicles older $34.99 2,013 79% 60k $2.1M (exactly $2,113,046) The Bearded Ladies
SteamWorld Heist older $14.99 4,232 93% 127k $1.9M (exactly $1,903,130) Image & Form Games
Artis Impact $18.99 2,308 84% 69k $1.3M (exactly $1,314,868) Mas
FRONT MISSION 3: Remake $34.99 453 74% 14k $476k (exactly $475,514) MegaPixel Studio 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
R-Type Tactics I • II Cosmos $49.99 94 82% 2.8k $141k (exactly $140,972) Granzella Inc.
Twilight Wars $14.99 229 74% 6.9k $103k (exactly $102,981) Comrade Bear Games
Death Ring: Second Impact · EA $19.99 163 78% 4.9k $98k (exactly $97,751) Rouge Mecha
Roulette Hero $9.99 260 92% 7.8k $78k (exactly $77,922) CLLC Studio

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