Do I ship it?

GamesTurn-Based CombatTurn-Based Combat + Steampunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Steampunk Turn-Based Combat game?

Turn-Based Combat + Steampunk

Of 24 developers who shipped a Steampunk Turn-Based Combat 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.. 38 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×4.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $510k, ×820 the market median. Revenue is up 360% on the market; 38 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 360% on the market, 38 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Combat + Steampunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $274k → $180 → $5.0k → $112k → $2.1k (still earning) → $7.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Combat + Steampunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,994)
Top 25% $80k (exactly $80,496)
Top 5% $515k (exactly $515,044)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 60
Announced 38
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 up 360% on the market, supply 40% 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.

Turn-Based Combat
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Steampunk
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 Combat; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Strategy
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich
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 78% positive over 3,193 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $80k, 1 in 20 over $510k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Combat with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaStrong odds20 devs · median $19k · 21 announced
  2. + Hack and SlashStrong odds28 devs · median $3.7k · 27 announced
  3. + RomeFair8 devs · median $16k · 13 announced
  4. + CookingFair15 devs · median $6.0k · 22 announced
  5. + UndergroundFair18 devs · median $4.2k · 29 announced
  6. + IdlerFair52 devs · median $4.0k · 41 announced
  7. + DiceFair49 devs · median $2.2k · 59 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair81 devs · median $1.4k · 107 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair59 devs · median $1.3k · 71 announced
  10. + Tower DefenseFair28 devs · median $839 · 34 announced
  11. + Artificial IntelligenceFair46 devs · median $719 · 52 announced
  12. + SolitaireFair26 devs · median $450 · 31 announced

All 175 pairs on the Turn-Based Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
FINAL FANTASY IX older $20.99 12,447 95% 373k $7.8M (exactly $7,837,876) Square Enix
Battle Chasers: Nightwar older $29.99 5,573 87% 167k $5.0M (exactly $5,014,028) Airship Syndicate
SteamWorld Heist older $14.99 4,232 93% 127k $1.9M (exactly $1,903,130) Image & Form Games
SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech older $24.99 1,953 87% 59k $1.5M (exactly $1,464,164) Image & Form Games
RESONANCE OF FATE™/END OF ETERNITY™ 4K/HD EDITION older $34.99 983 80% 29k $1.0M (exactly $1,031,855) tri-Ace
Vaporum older $19.99 998 84% 30k $599k (exactly $598,501) Fatbot Games, s. r. o.
FrostBound $14.99 1,196 82% 36k $538k (exactly $537,841) Lyra Studio
New Arc Line · EA $24.99 687 68% 21k $515k (exactly $515,044) Dreamate
Iron Danger older $19.99 544 73% 16k $326k (exactly $326,237) Action Squad Studios
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura older $5.99 1,813 89% 54k $326k (exactly $325,796) Troika Games
Dead Weight $12.99 575 82% 17k $224k (exactly $224,078) Klukva Games
Hunter's Moon: A Sovereign Syndicate Adventure $19.99 205 83% 6.2k $123k (exactly $122,938) Crimson Herring Studios
Erannorth Renaissance $19.99 186 81% 5.6k $112k (exactly $111,544) Spyridon Thalassinos
Snow Ash $14.99 179 73% 5.4k $80k (exactly $80,496) Ember Studio
Neuroshima Hex $9.99 93 72% 2.8k $28k (exactly $27,872) Baked Games
Demiurges $14.99 36 88% 1.1k $16k (exactly $16,189) Berih
Spellpowder: Uprising $14.99 19 94% 570 $8.5k (exactly $8,544) Rogandir Studio
King’s Well $14.99 17 76% 510 $7.6k (exactly $7,645) Fire Brick Games

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