Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Combat › Turn-Based Combat + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Turn-Based Combat game?

Turn-Based Combat + Zombies

Of 31 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 52 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.1k, ×8.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $840; 1 in 20 cleared $680k, ×1091 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 52 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 52 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Combat + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $1.8k → $1.3k → $101k → $2.2k → $5.1k (still earning) → $86k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Combat + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $839 (exactly $839)
Median $5.1k (exactly $5,095)
Top 25% $101k (exactly $100,999)
Top 5% $685k (exactly $685,454)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 102
Announced 52
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 15% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Zombies
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 Combat; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Dark, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 4,720 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $840, median $5.1k, 1 in 4 over $100k, 1 in 20 over $680k.

3 in 10 developers made under $840. 6 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Combat with a different setting or mood, 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

Terminus: Zombie Survivors 2024 · $2.6M Knock on the Coffin Lid 2024 · $2.0M Dead Age 2016 · $2.0M SKYHILL 2015 · $1.4M Dead State: Reanimated 2014 · $1.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Terminus: Zombie Survivors older $19.99 4,340 94% 130k $2.6M (exactly $2,602,698) Longplay Studios
Knock on the Coffin Lid older $24.99 2,727 82% 82k $2.0M (exactly $2,044,432) RedBoon
Dead Age older $14.99 4,407 83% 132k $2.0M (exactly $1,981,828) Silent Dreams
SKYHILL older $9.99 4,736 78% 142k $1.4M (exactly $1,419,379) Mandragora
Dead State: Reanimated older $19.99 2,100 73% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,259,370) DoubleBear Productions
Pathway older $15.99 1,908 76% 57k $915k (exactly $915,268) Robotality
Warhammer Quest (Classic) older $29.99 897 71% 27k $807k (exactly $807,031) Rodeo Games, Twistplay
The Necromancer's Tale $24.99 921 91% 28k $690k (exactly $690,474) Psychic Software
Urban Strife $34.99 653 69% 20k $685k (exactly $685,454) White Pond Games
Dead Age 2: The Zombie Survival RPG older $17.99 1,154 75% 35k $623k (exactly $622,814) Silent Dreams
Vultures - Scavengers of Death $17.99 532 81% 16k $287k (exactly $287,120) Team Vultures
House of Necrosis $11.99 581 94% 17k $209k (exactly $208,986) Warkus
Dead Grid $12.99 504 93% 15k $196k (exactly $196,409) Atom Void
侠落：百花杀尽 $12.99 493 70% 15k $192k (exactly $192,122) 上海江湖逸客信息技术有限公司
Dead Season $19.99 182 69% 5.5k $109k (exactly $109,145) Snail Bite
Sonny Legacy Collection $9.99 337 91% 10k $101k (exactly $100,999) Krin Juangbhanich
No Socks RPG $9.99 286 92% 8.6k $86k (exactly $85,714) Spicyfuse
Bakahazard 1+2 $3.99 231 99% 6.9k $28k (exactly $27,651) 流比奈梦工厂

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