Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Strategy › Turn-Based Strategy + Steampunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Steampunk Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + Steampunk

Of 25 developers who shipped a Steampunk Turn-Based Strategy 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.. 30 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $270. Revenue is up 2955% on the market; 30 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 2955% on the market, 30 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Strategy + Steampunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $8.5k → $11k → $120 (still earning) → $7.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + Steampunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $16,189)
Top 5% $224k (exactly $224,078)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 55
Announced 30
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 2955% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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 Strategy; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RPG, Turn-Based Combat
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
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 80% positive over 2,342 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. All of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $19k · 17 announced
  2. + Cold WarFair18 devs · median $9.9k · 22 announced
  3. + RomeFair15 devs · median $9.0k · 18 announced
  4. + LootFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  5. + MiningFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  6. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $3.7k · 12 announced
  7. + IdlerFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  8. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  9. + TanksFair25 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  10. + SokobanFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  11. + Top-Down ShooterFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  12. + SpaceFair107 devs · median $1.5k · 143 announced

All 187 pairs on the Turn-Based Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Gremlins, Inc. 2016 · $3.9M SteamWorld Heist 2016 · $1.9M Scythe: Digital Edition 2018 · $1.9M FrostBound 2025 · $538k Iron Danger 2020 · $326k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Gremlins, Inc. older $19.99 6,562 85% 197k $3.9M (exactly $3,935,231) Charlie Oscar Lima Tango Interactive En… (Charlie Oscar Lima Tango Interactive Entertainment)
SteamWorld Heist older $14.99 4,232 93% 127k $1.9M (exactly $1,903,130) Image & Form Games
Scythe: Digital Edition older $19.99 3,164 89% 95k $1.9M (exactly $1,897,451) The Knights of Unity
FrostBound $14.99 1,196 82% 36k $538k (exactly $537,841) Lyra Studio
Iron Danger older $19.99 544 73% 16k $326k (exactly $326,237) Action Squad Studios
Dungeons of Aether older $14.99 609 82% 18k $274k (exactly $273,867) Aether Studios, ampersandbear
Dead Weight $12.99 575 82% 17k $224k (exactly $224,078) Klukva Games
Steam Marines older $19.99 219 52% 6.6k $131k (exactly $131,334) Worthless Bums
Hunter's Moon: A Sovereign Syndicate Adventure $19.99 205 83% 6.2k $123k (exactly $122,938) Crimson Herring Studios
Ironclad Tactics older $14.99 237 75% 7.1k $107k (exactly $106,579) Zachtronics
Bonaparte - A Mechanized Revolution $24.99 72 68% 2.2k $54k (exactly $53,978) Studio Imugi
Pirates Outlaws 2: Heritage · EA $14.99 105 60% 3.2k $47k (exactly $47,218) Fabled Game
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
Drill Rift $14.99 24 75% 720 $11k (exactly $10,793) Steam Veil Games
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.