Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Turn-Based Combat
Should I ship a Turn-Based Combat Souls-like?
Souls-like + Turn-Based Combat
Of 21 developers who shipped a Turn-Based Combat Souls-like 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.. 23 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $12k, ×8.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $3.0M, ×2056 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 23 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) |
|---|---|
| Median | $12k (exactly $12,142) |
| Top 25% | $88k (exactly $88,137) |
| Top 5% | $3.1M (exactly $3,079,339) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 47 |
| Announced | 23 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Souls-like
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Turn-Based Combat
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Souls-like, Turn-Based Combat; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 199,688 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $3.0k. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Precision PlatformerLong shot
- + Score AttackLong shot
- + WarPoor odds
- + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
Comparable games
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 2025 · $272M 
Fear & Hunger 2: Termina 2022 · $5.1M 
BLACK SOULS 2025 · $3.1M 
BLACK SOULS II 2025 · $2.2M 
Demon Lord: Just a Block 2026 · $805k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | $49.99 | 181,667 95% | 5.5M | $272M (exactly $272,446,000) | Sandfall Interactive | |
| | Fear & Hunger 2: Termina | older | $11.99 | 14,232 97% | 427k | $5.1M (exactly $5,119,250) | Miro Haverinen |
| | BLACK SOULS | $13.99 | 7,337 95% | 220k | $3.1M (exactly $3,079,339) | Eeny, meeny, miny, moe? | |
| | BLACK SOULS II | $13.99 | 5,277 97% | 158k | $2.2M (exactly $2,214,757) | Eeny, meeny, miny, moe? | |
| | Demon Lord: Just a Block | $12.99 | 2,065 96% | 62k | $805k (exactly $804,730) | YuWave | |
 | Warhounds | $34.99 | 735 71% | 22k | $772k (exactly $771,530) | Everplay DMCC | |
 | Journey of Realm：Dawn Dew | $10.99 | 2,233 97% | 67k | $736k (exactly $736,220) | 葱色兔兔/Scallion Rabbit | |
 | Moon Corona | · EA | $13.99 | 210 82% | 6.3k | $88k (exactly $88,137) | 不倒龙工作室, Budaolong Studio |
 | 勇者与亡灵之都 | older | $6.99 | 356 93% | 11k | $75k (exactly $74,653) | grade |
 | Umbra: The Last Summoner | $29.99 | 59 72% | 1.8k | $53k (exactly $53,082) | EpiRPG | |
 | RAVENSBURG | $14.99 | 45 95% | 1.4k | $20k (exactly $20,236) | Lilian Duleroux | |
 | Silan: Monster Girl Master! | $8.99 | 60 95% | 1.8k | $16k (exactly $16,182) | 愛の勇者 |
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.