Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Score Attack Turn-Based Combat game?

Turn-Based Combat + Score Attack

Of 20 developers who shipped a Score Attack 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.. 29 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $8.4k, ×18 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 29 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 29 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Combat + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $89 → $1.5k → $599 → $449 → $599 (still earning) → $899 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Combat + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $2.4k (exactly $2,397)
Top 5% $8.4k (exactly $8,432)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 45
Announced 29
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 55% on the market, supply 135% 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 Combat
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Combat, Score Attack; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Battler, Card Game
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 189 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $600, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $8.4k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Combat with a different second tag, 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

Dungeon Deathball 2021 · $69k Dandy Dungeon - Legend of Brave Yamada - 2019 · $50k SOULVARS 2023 · $36k Racingmaybe 2022 · $23k Facehand 2024 · $21k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dungeon Deathball older $11.99 193 95% 5.8k $69k (exactly $69,422) Matt Glanville
Dandy Dungeon - Legend of Brave Yamada - older $18.99 87 85% 2.6k $50k (exactly $49,564) Onion Games
SOULVARS older $16.99 70 78% 2.1k $36k (exactly $35,679) ginolabo, SUCCESS Corp.
Racingmaybe older $9.99 77 100% 2.3k $23k (exactly $23,077) Jhoffis
Facehand older $6.99 100 88% 3.0k $21k (exactly $20,970) foolsroom
Gigachess older $3.99 85 82% 2.6k $10k (exactly $10,174) Drixxel Soft
MY DIRECT DAMAG 7 TRILLION $2.99 94 71% 2.8k $8.4k (exactly $8,432) 真香工作室
Bingo Betty $14.99 13 100% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Elias Austin
Spanking Runners older $4.99 34 91% 1.0k $5.1k (exactly $5,090) K-D Lab
RolemIAster · EA $5.99 23 56% 690 $4.1k (exactly $4,133) ABAFE
Axe Ghost $9.99 10 90% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) Tomasz Kaye
Blasted Dice $7.99 10 70% 300 $2.4k (exactly $2,397) Rodrigo Serôdio
Pinball Hero $3.99 17 76% 510 $2.0k (exactly $2,035) COSO
Soul Stake $3.99 11 90% 330 $1.3k (exactly $1,317) Tap-Tap Legends
Wordforge: Silent Letters $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Les Ganton
Questy Chess $5.99 4 100% 120 $719 (exactly $719) Dadako
NightDirge $4.99 4 100% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Logan TimeLierG Eberly

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