Do I ship it?

GamesStrategyStrategy + Spelling

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 52 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy + Spelling
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 42
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $748 → $1.3k → $1.9k → $7.0k → $8.1k → $299 (still earning) → $30 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy + Spelling: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 42
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.

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.

Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Spelling
effort 1 / 10 · high · effort 1 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $780, 1 in 4 over $8.0k, 1 in 20 over $52k.

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.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds50 devs · median $65k · 27 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair62 devs · median $16k · 74 announced
  3. + BaseballFair14 devs · median $7.5k · 7 announced
  4. + LGBTQ+Fair89 devs · median $6.7k · 91 announced
  5. + WuxiaFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 41 announced
  6. + FarmingFair44 devs · median $4.3k · 42 announced
  7. + Martial ArtsFair81 devs · median $3.0k · 94 announced
  8. + SubmarineFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  9. + NavalFair66 devs · median $2.2k · 88 announced
  10. + IdlerFair696 devs · median $1.9k · 988 announced
  11. + Shop KeeperFair159 devs · median $1.8k · 264 announced
  12. + HackingFair96 devs · median $1.2k · 132 announced

All 275 pairs on the Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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.