Do I ship it?

GamesTurn-Based TacticsTurn-Based Tactics + Steampunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Steampunk Turn-Based Tactics?

Turn-Based Tactics + Steampunk

Of 23 developers who shipped a Steampunk Turn-Based Tactics 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.. 29 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.0k, ×8.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $510k, ×820 the market median. Revenue is up 175% on the market; 29 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 175% on the market, 29 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Tactics + Steampunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $180 → $8.5k → $11k → $7.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Tactics + Steampunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $5.0k (exactly $5,034)
Top 25% $35k (exactly $35,077)
Top 5% $515k (exactly $515,044)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 56
Announced 29
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 175% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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 Tactics
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 Tactics; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Strategy
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 2,866 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 $5.0k, 1 in 4 over $35k, 1 in 20 over $510k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + TanksFair24 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  2. + AutomationFair28 devs · median $2.9k · 36 announced
  3. + ProgrammingFair14 devs · median $2.4k · 16 announced
  4. + DiceFair47 devs · median $1.6k · 53 announced
  5. + MiningFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 8 announced
  6. + Time ManagementFair65 devs · median $1.4k · 69 announced
  7. + IdlerFair47 devs · median $1.3k · 48 announced
  8. + Psychological HorrorFair55 devs · median $1.0k · 56 announced
  9. + Traditional RoguelikeFair78 devs · median $629 · 95 announced
  10. + PsychologicalFair34 devs · median $629 · 40 announced
  11. + PuzzleFair263 devs · median $598 · 308 announced
  12. + PlatformerLong shot15 devs · median $360 · 18 announced

All 189 pairs on the Turn-Based Tactics page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SteamWorld Heist older $14.99 4,232 93% 127k $1.9M (exactly $1,903,130) Image & Form Games
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
Shardpunk older $13.99 739 92% 22k $310k (exactly $310,158) Clockwork Pile
Dungeons of Aether older $14.99 609 82% 18k $274k (exactly $273,867) Aether Studios, ampersandbear
Erannorth Chronicles older $20.99 407 85% 12k $256k (exactly $256,288) Spyridon Thalassinos
Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption older $29.99 280 90% 8.4k $252k (exactly $251,916) Transolar Games
Dead Weight $12.99 575 82% 17k $224k (exactly $224,078) Klukva Games
Circus Electrique older $19.99 258 74% 7.7k $155k (exactly $154,723) Zen Studios
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
Barrage $14.99 78 80% 2.3k $35k (exactly $35,077) Cranio Lab
Neuroshima Hex $9.99 93 72% 2.8k $28k (exactly $27,872) Baked Games
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.