Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Strategy › Turn-Based Strategy + Word Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Word Game Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + Word Game

Of 21 developers who shipped a Word Game Turn-Based Strategy 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.. 26 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×191 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 26 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 26 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Strategy + Word Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $4.7k → $1.7k → $2.2k → $179 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + Word Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,155)
Top 5% $120k (exactly $120,180)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 47
Announced 26
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 100% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Turn-Based Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Word Game
effort 1 / 10 · high · dictionary logic and simple UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Strategy, Word Game; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Roguelite, Simulation
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 2,943 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $900, 1 in 4 over $2.1k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 6 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $19k · 17 announced
  2. + Cold WarFair18 devs · median $9.9k · 22 announced
  3. + RomeFair15 devs · median $9.0k · 18 announced
  4. + LootFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  5. + MiningFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  6. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $3.7k · 12 announced
  7. + IdlerFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  8. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  9. + TanksFair25 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  10. + SokobanFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  11. + Top-Down ShooterFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  12. + SpaceFair107 devs · median $1.5k · 143 announced

All 187 pairs on the Turn-Based Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Pronoun Palace 2026 · $743k 我来自江湖 From Jianghu 2020 · EA · $667k 大侠请重来 2022 · $213k 懒人修仙传2 2022 · EA · $209k Wordatro! 2025 · $120k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Pronoun Palace $19.84 1,249 99% 37k $743k (exactly $743,405) Cadence Petersen, Hazel Fackler
我来自江湖 From Jianghu · EA older $9.99 2,227 81% 67k $667k (exactly $667,432) Gamexel Studio
大侠请重来 older $1.99 3,564 82% 107k $213k (exactly $212,771) 熊窝dodox
懒人修仙传2 · EA older $7.99 873 71% 26k $209k (exactly $209,258) 托更的修罗
Wordatro! $9.99 401 85% 12k $120k (exactly $120,180) Le Poulet
挂机神话 older $1.99 1,693 90% 51k $101k (exactly $101,072) 狮子
小小侠客模拟器 $2.99 1,103 86% 33k $99k (exactly $98,939) 小小游戏
TypInc. $9.99 102 74% 3.1k $31k (exactly $30,569) Game Game Games
Socialism Simulator older $3.99 240 95% 7.2k $29k (exactly $28,728) Sempiternal Rain
Tower of Origin2-Worm's Nest older $13.99 49 67% 1.5k $21k (exactly $20,565) Villain Role
Pay Back Girls $9.99 38 92% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) The Platypus
公考刷题模拟器-我要上岸 $3.99 18 61% 540 $2.2k (exactly $2,155) DoubleGame
Idle Hero Siege $3.99 14 42% 420 $1.7k (exactly $1,676) 光鸽
SPELLCAST $10.99 5 100% 150 $1.6k (exactly $1,648) BEDiBUG Concepts
LHEA and the Word Spirit $9.99 5 100% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) Soul Fuel Games
天道轮回：我的修仙梦 $5.99 8 37% 240 $1.4k (exactly $1,438) Kaka Ku Games Inc.

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