Do I ship it?

GamesTurn-Based StrategyTurn-Based Strategy + Space

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + Space

Of 107 developers who shipped a Space 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.. 143 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $270. Revenue is flat on the market; 143 games are announced against 73 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 143 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Strategy + Space
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 107
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.3k → $45k → $4.7k → $2.6k → $2.7k → $2.4k → $900 (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + Space: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 107
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,195)
Top 5% $141k (exactly $140,972)
Developers, 2 yr 107
Released games 319
Announced 143
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 flat on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Space
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Combat, Tactical
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 18,119 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 143 games are announced against 73 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + SteampunkFair25 devs · median $1.5k · 30 announced

All 187 pairs on the Turn-Based Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader older $49.99 33,701 87% 1.0M $51M (exactly $50,541,390) Owlcat Games
BATTLETECH older $39.99 23,024 84% 691k $28M (exactly $27,621,893) Harebrained Schemes
ENDLESS Space™ 2 older $39.99 17,280 83% 518k $21M (exactly $20,730,816) AMPLITUDE Studios
Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™ older $39.99 14,047 61% 421k $17M (exactly $16,852,186) Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linu… (Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux))
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
Terra Invicta $39.99 9,057 80% 272k $11M (exactly $10,865,683) Pavonis Interactive
Galactic Civilizations III older $29.99 8,337 77% 250k $7.5M (exactly $7,500,799) Stardock Entertainment
Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector older $39.99 5,064 88% 152k $6.1M (exactly $6,075,281) Slitherine Ltd.
Master of Orion older $24.99 7,332 76% 220k $5.5M (exactly $5,496,800) NGD Studios
Quasimorph $24.99 7,196 82% 216k $5.4M (exactly $5,394,841) Magnum Scriptum
Approaching Infinity $17.99 723 95% 22k $390k (exactly $390,203) IBOL
Starless Abyss $19.99 296 83% 8.9k $178k (exactly $177,511) Konafa Games
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.
Dead Reckoning: The Long Drift · EA $14.99 174 83% 5.2k $78k (exactly $78,248) Garan Lorn
Stellar Orphans $16.99 139 71% 4.2k $71k (exactly $70,848) Artifex Parvus
Clonizer $14.99 146 82% 4.4k $66k (exactly $65,656) Juicy Plume
STARBITES $49.99 42 64% 1.3k $63k (exactly $62,987) IKINAGAMES

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