Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Steampunk
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.
| 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.
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
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
Adjacent niches
Turn-Based Combat with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + WuxiaStrong odds
- + Hack and SlashStrong odds
- + RomeFair
- + CookingFair
- + UndergroundFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DiceFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + SolitaireFair
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.
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.