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Should I ship a Word Game Strategy game?
Strategy + Word Game
Of 140 developers who shipped a Word Game Strategy 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.. 178 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×502 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 178 games are announced against 88 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.1k (exactly $1,076) |
| Top 25% | $6.1k (exactly $6,110) |
| Top 5% | $316k (exactly $315,549) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 140 |
| Released games | 435 |
| Announced | 178 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $2.99 |
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 10% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy, Word Game; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Simulation, Puzzle
- Price point
- $2.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 28,165 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 88 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 178 games are announced against 88 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
Comparable games
Word Game 2022 · $6.2M 
The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall 2026 · $3.0M 
Mandate Of Heaven 2025 · $2.4M 
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator 2025 · $2.0M 
Retirement Simulator 2022 · EA · $1.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Word Game | older | $34.99 | 5,930 93% | 178k | $6.2M (exactly $6,224,721) | Team9 |
| | The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall | $11.99 | 8,227 58% | 247k | $3.0M (exactly $2,959,252) | 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame) | |
| | Mandate Of Heaven | $14.99 | 5,446 91% | 163k | $2.4M (exactly $2,449,066) | 木焱工作室 | |
| | Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator | $12.99 | 5,191 92% | 156k | $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) | Aluba Van+ | |
| | Retirement Simulator | · EA older | $13.99 | 3,757 34% | 113k | $1.6M (exactly $1,576,813) | DoubleThink Studio |
 | The Jackbox Party Pack 8 | older | $29.99 | 1,134 90% | 34k | $1.0M (exactly $1,020,260) | Jackbox Games, Inc. |
 | CaseCracker | older | $9.99 | 3,314 89% | 99k | $993k (exactly $993,206) | BlackRobe |
 | Pronoun Palace | $19.84 | 1,249 99% | 37k | $743k (exactly $743,405) | Cadence Petersen, Hazel Fackler | |
 | DEATH NOTE Killer Within | $9.99 | 2,324 84% | 70k | $697k (exactly $696,503) | Grounding Inc. | |
 | 我来自江湖 From Jianghu | · EA older | $9.99 | 2,227 81% | 67k | $667k (exactly $667,432) | Gamexel Studio |
 | xiuzhen idle | $5.99 | 2,313 79% | 69k | $416k (exactly $415,646) | 游戏养家工作室 | |
 | Misty Judgment | $8.99 | 1,170 92% | 35k | $316k (exactly $315,549) | 次元边界 | |
 | Cursed Words: The Word Game That Isn't | $14.99 | 698 95% | 21k | $314k (exactly $313,891) | Buried Things | |
 | 轮回修仙传 | $4.99 | 1,085 81% | 33k | $162k (exactly $162,424) | Collider Studio | |
 | Lightracer: For Judge | $9.99 | 462 92% | 14k | $138k (exactly $138,461) | Smartmelon Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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