Games › Strategy › Strategy + Spelling
Should I ship a Spelling Strategy game?
Strategy + Spelling
Of 42 developers who shipped a Spelling Strategy 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.. 52 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $780, ×1.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $52k, ×83 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 52 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $779 (exactly $779) |
| Top 25% | $8.1k (exactly $8,084) |
| Top 5% | $52k (exactly $52,043) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 42 |
| Released games | 105 |
| Announced | 52 |
| 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 down 75% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy, Spelling; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Word Game, Roguelike, Roguelite
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Minimalist, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 2,004 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Pronoun Palace | $19.84 | 1,249 99% | 37k | $743k (exactly $743,405) | Cadence Petersen, Hazel Fackler | |
| | スペルトナエル | older | $8.99 | 344 97% | 10k | $93k (exactly $92,777) | おまど |
| | Touch Type Tale - Strategic Typing | $19.99 | 107 89% | 3.2k | $64k (exactly $64,168) | Pumpernickel Studio | |
| | Chinatris | older | $1.99 | 1,004 85% | 30k | $60k (exactly $59,939) | 仓鼠动力, Args Studio |
| | MORSE | $13.99 | 124 93% | 3.7k | $52k (exactly $52,043) | ALJO Games | |
| | Beyond Words | $14.99 | 102 84% | 3.1k | $46k (exactly $45,869) | MindFuel Games | |
| | Word Game World | $11.99 | 114 62% | 3.4k | $41k (exactly $41,006) | Team9 | |
| | TypInc. | $9.99 | 102 74% | 3.1k | $31k (exactly $30,569) | Game Game Games | |
| | CrossCraze | older | $17.99 | 54 98% | 1.6k | $29k (exactly $29,144) | ORT Software |
| | Words Can Kill | older | $7.99 | 92 70% | 2.8k | $22k (exactly $22,052) | Typing Monkey |
| | OMG Words | $9.99 | 72 79% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $21,578) | Dave | |
| | The Angel's Devil Tail - One More Question 2 | $9.99 | 70 91% | 2.1k | $21k (exactly $20,979) | 橘音 | |
| | Watchword | $13.99 | 33 90% | 990 | $14k (exactly $13,850) | Big Quail Games | |
| | Lexispell | $8.99 | 31 93% | 930 | $8.4k (exactly $8,361) | MrEliptik |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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