Games › Sports › Sports + Turn-Based Tactics
Should I ship a Turn-Based Tactics Sports game?
Sports + Turn-Based Tactics
Of 78 developers who shipped a Turn-Based Tactics Sports 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.. 94 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×277 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 94 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $270 (exactly $270) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $7.9k (exactly $7,913) |
| Top 5% | $174k (exactly $173,913) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 78 |
| Released games | 231 |
| Announced | 94 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 70% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Sports
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Turn-Based Tactics
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sports, Turn-Based Tactics; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Simulation, Management
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 6,620 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 44 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 94 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Sports with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dynamic NarrationStrong odds
- + CraftingFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + SandboxFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + FMVFair
- + BikesFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + Choices MatterFair
Comparable games
WRC 7 FIA World Rally Championship 2017 · $7.3M 
Blood Bowl 2: Legendary Edition (Classic) 2017 · $6.4M 
Blood Bowl 3 2023 · $3.5M 
Football, Tactics & Glory 2018 · $3.0M 
Esports Godfather 2024 · $2.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | WRC 7 FIA World Rally Championship | older | $19.99 | 12,146 82% | 364k | $7.3M (exactly $7,283,956) | KT Racing |
| | Blood Bowl 2: Legendary Edition (Classic) | older | $29.99 | 7,077 78% | 212k | $6.4M (exactly $6,367,177) | Cyanide Studios |
| | Blood Bowl 3 | older | $29.99 | 3,940 51% | 118k | $3.5M (exactly $3,544,818) | Cyanide Studio |
| | Football, Tactics & Glory | older | $24.99 | 3,998 87% | 120k | $3.0M (exactly $2,997,301) | Creoteam |
| | Esports Godfather | older | $19.99 | 4,319 90% | 130k | $2.6M (exactly $2,590,104) | Asteroid Game Studio |
 | Punch Club 2: Fast Forward | older | $19.99 | 3,808 81% | 114k | $2.3M (exactly $2,283,658) | Lazy Bear Games |
 | Teamfight Manager | older | $9.99 | 5,663 86% | 170k | $1.7M (exactly $1,697,201) | Team Samoyed |
 | Teamfight Manager 2 | · EA | $19.99 | 2,251 60% | 68k | $1.3M (exactly $1,349,925) | Team Samoyed |
 | Beastieball | · EA | $24.99 | 1,483 97% | 44k | $1.1M (exactly $1,111,805) | Wishes Ultd. |
 | Football Coach: College Dynasty | $19.99 | 1,485 95% | 45k | $891k (exactly $890,554) | SidelineSim Studios | |
 | Master of Chess | $19.99 | 290 83% | 8.7k | $174k (exactly $173,913) | BRANE | |
 | Esports History | $9.99 | 387 77% | 12k | $116k (exactly $115,984) | Quantum Gear Studios | |
 | TOUHOU GENSOU MAHJONG | $34.99 | 109 46% | 3.3k | $114k (exactly $114,417) | D.N.A. Softwares | |
 | Drop Pockets | · EA | $14.99 | 243 83% | 7.3k | $109k (exactly $109,277) | Children of Madness |
 | Franchise Hockey Manager 11 | $19.99 | 148 70% | 4.4k | $89k (exactly $88,756) | game54 Software, Out of the Park Develo… (game54 Software, Out of the Park Developments) | |
 | Franchise Hockey Manager 12 | $19.99 | 132 78% | 4.0k | $79k (exactly $79,160) | game54 Software, Out of the Park Develo… (game54 Software, Out of the Park Developments) | |
 | Infinity: HexaDome Tactics | $19.99 | 92 75% | 2.8k | $55k (exactly $55,172) | Blindspot Games |
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.