Games › Survival › Survival + Turn-Based Combat
Should I ship a Turn-Based Combat Survival game?
Survival + Turn-Based Combat
Of 64 developers who shipped a Turn-Based Combat Survival 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.. 147 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×468 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 147 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,617) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $12,887) |
| Top 5% | $294k (exactly $293,853) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 64 |
| Released games | 225 |
| Announced | 147 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 down 75% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Survival
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Turn-Based Combat
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Survival, Turn-Based Combat; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 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 91% positive over 14,228 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 147 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Survival with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Social DeductionFair
- + Word GameFair
- + CatsFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + DogsFair
- + Martial ArtsLong shot
- + Boomer ShooterLong shot
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
Wartales 2023 · $34M 
Stoneshard 2020 · EA · $26M 
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden 2018 · $14M 
Caves of Qud 2024 · $11M 
WORLD OF HORROR 2023 · $5.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Wartales | older | $34.99 | 32,118 86% | 964k | $34M (exactly $33,714,265) | Shiro Games |
| | Stoneshard | · EA older | $24.99 | 34,149 74% | 1.0M | $26M (exactly $25,601,505) | Ink Stains Games |
| | Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden | older | $34.99 | 13,305 89% | 399k | $14M (exactly $13,966,258) | The Bearded Ladies |
| | Caves of Qud | $29.99 | 11,892 94% | 357k | $11M (exactly $10,699,232) | Freehold Games | |
| | WORLD OF HORROR | older | $19.99 | 8,991 89% | 270k | $5.4M (exactly $5,391,903) | panstasz |
 | Tainted Grail: Conquest | older | $19.99 | 7,589 90% | 228k | $4.6M (exactly $4,551,123) | Questline |
 | ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game | older | $14.99 | 9,991 84% | 300k | $4.5M (exactly $4,492,953) | AtomTeam |
 | Home Behind 2 | older | $19.99 | 6,585 86% | 198k | $3.9M (exactly $3,949,024) | TPP Studio |
 | Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG | older | $29.99 | 4,193 77% | 126k | $3.8M (exactly $3,772,442) | Dark Crystal Games |
 | Terminus: Zombie Survivors | older | $19.99 | 4,340 94% | 130k | $2.6M (exactly $2,602,698) | Longplay Studios |
 | Urban Strife | $34.99 | 653 69% | 20k | $685k (exactly $685,454) | White Pond Games | |
 | NITRO GEN OMEGA | $29.99 | 398 83% | 12k | $358k (exactly $358,081) | DESTINYbit | |
 | Sandwalkers | $19.99 | 490 73% | 15k | $294k (exactly $293,853) | Goblinz Studio | |
 | Forgotten but Unbroken | $19.99 | 249 76% | 7.5k | $149k (exactly $149,325) | Centurion Developments | |
 | Snow Ash | $14.99 | 179 73% | 5.4k | $80k (exactly $80,496) | Ember Studio | |
 | Edge Islands | · EA | $17.99 | 93 74% | 2.8k | $50k (exactly $50,192) | LS Games |
 | Project Afterfall | · EA | $19.99 | 80 75% | 2.4k | $48k (exactly $47,976) | MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio |
 | Mirklurk: Every Step Matters | · EA | $11.99 | 101 95% | 3.0k | $36k (exactly $36,330) | Edym Pixels |
 | Neuroshima Hex | $9.99 | 93 72% | 2.8k | $28k (exactly $27,872) | Baked Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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