Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management Turn-Based Combat game?

Turn-Based Combat + Time Management

Of 34 developers who shipped a Time Management 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.. 57 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $24k, ×51 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $3.4M, ×7229 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 57 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 50.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 60% on the market, 57 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Combat + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.8k → $7.1k → $18k → $1.9k → $27k → $6.1k → $230k (still earning) → $43k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Combat + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $2.5k (exactly $2,516)
Median $24k (exactly $24,116)
Top 25% $158k (exactly $158,187)
Top 5% $3.4M (exactly $3,433,909)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 82
Announced 57
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 60% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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 Combat
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Combat, Time Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Choices Matter
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 38,297 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.6k, median $24k, 1 in 4 over $150k, 1 in 20 over $3.4M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.6k. 7 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Combat with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaStrong odds20 devs · median $19k · 21 announced
  2. + Hack and SlashStrong odds28 devs · median $3.7k · 27 announced
  3. + RomeFair8 devs · median $16k · 13 announced
  4. + CookingFair15 devs · median $6.0k · 22 announced
  5. + UndergroundFair18 devs · median $4.2k · 29 announced
  6. + IdlerFair52 devs · median $4.0k · 41 announced
  7. + DiceFair49 devs · median $2.2k · 59 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair81 devs · median $1.4k · 107 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair59 devs · median $1.3k · 71 announced
  10. + Tower DefenseFair28 devs · median $839 · 34 announced
  11. + Artificial IntelligenceFair46 devs · median $719 · 52 announced
  12. + SolitaireFair26 devs · median $450 · 31 announced

All 175 pairs on the Turn-Based Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Metaphor: ReFantazio 2024 · $53M Path Of Wuxia 2022 · $30M Volcano Princess 2023 · $15M Magical Princess 2026 · $3.4M Atelier Rorona ~The Alchemist of Arland~ DX 2018 · $872k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Metaphor: ReFantazio $69.99 25,224 89% 757k $53M (exactly $52,962,833) ATLUS
Path Of Wuxia older $34.99 28,286 78% 849k $30M (exactly $29,691,814) 香港商河洛互動娛樂股份有限公司
Volcano Princess older $10.99 45,019 97% 1.4M $15M (exactly $14,842,764) 养蛋人 Egg Hatcher
Magical Princess $14.99 7,636 96% 229k $3.4M (exactly $3,433,909) Neotro Inc., MAGI Inc.
Atelier Rorona ~The Alchemist of Arland~ DX older $39.99 727 91% 22k $872k (exactly $872,182) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Subterrain: Mines of Titan older $19.99 657 75% 20k $394k (exactly $394,003) Pixellore Inc
The NOexistenceN of Morphean Paradox : The Forest of Silver Shallots · EA $6.99 1,697 72% 51k $356k (exactly $355,861) 0x0Real Studio
Card Cultivation $14.99 694 70% 21k $312k (exactly $312,092) DarkIndex
Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption older $29.99 280 90% 8.4k $252k (exactly $251,916) Transolar Games
万象群侠传 $8.99 853 85% 26k $230k (exactly $230,054) 火天工作室
HellSlave II: Judgment of the Archon $19.99 316 77% 9.5k $190k (exactly $189,505) Ars Goetia
Master of Chess $19.99 290 83% 8.7k $174k (exactly $173,913) BRANE
轮回修仙传 $4.99 1,085 81% 33k $162k (exactly $162,424) Collider Studio
Star Knightess Aura $24.99 211 86% 6.3k $158k (exactly $158,187) AuraGamedev
TK Punk Gold $11.99 291 87% 8.7k $105k (exactly $104,673) 桑尼游戏(Sunny Game)

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.