Do I ship it?

GamesTurn-Based StrategyTurn-Based Strategy + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + Zombies

Of 27 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 45 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×3.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $680k, ×1091 the market median. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 45 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 90% on the market, 45 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Strategy + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $1.8k → $20k → $7.9k → $1.8k → $2.2k → $6.5k (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $360 (exactly $360)
Median $2.0k (exactly $2,035)
Top 25% $9.6k (exactly $9,595)
Top 5% $685k (exactly $685,454)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 97
Announced 45
Effort 5 / 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 up 90% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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 Strategy; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Turn-Based Tactics, Strategy
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Dark, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 5,069 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $2.0k, 1 in 4 over $9.5k, 1 in 20 over $680k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Strategy with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
South Park™: The Stick of Truth™ older $29.99 60,770 97% 1.8M $55M (exactly $54,674,769) Obsidian Entertainment
Terminus: Zombie Survivors older $19.99 4,340 94% 130k $2.6M (exactly $2,602,698) Longplay Studios
Dead Age older $14.99 4,407 83% 132k $2.0M (exactly $1,981,828) Silent Dreams
Deadly Days: Roadtrip · EA $14.99 2,855 87% 86k $1.3M (exactly $1,283,894) Pixelsplit
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord older $34.99 1,209 77% 36k $1.3M (exactly $1,269,087) Digital Eclipse
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
Urban Strife $34.99 653 69% 20k $685k (exactly $685,454) White Pond Games
Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville older $14.99 1,486 86% 45k $668k (exactly $668,254) Northway Games, Sarah Northway
Vultures - Scavengers of Death $17.99 532 81% 16k $287k (exactly $287,120) Team Vultures
Dead Grid $12.99 504 93% 15k $196k (exactly $196,409) Atom Void
MEMOLITH: Forsaken by Light $19.99 220 76% 6.6k $132k (exactly $131,934) Black Anchor
Dead Season $19.99 182 69% 5.5k $109k (exactly $109,145) Snail Bite
Giggle Night: Trixie's Trial · EA $19.99 16 81% 480 $9.6k (exactly $9,595) Anaximanes Entertainment
Breath of Death VII: The Beginning: Reanimated $4.99 53 86% 1.6k $7.9k (exactly $7,934) Shadow Layer Games LLC
Necromancer For A Week $7.99 27 96% 810 $6.5k (exactly $6,472) QuietPenguinGaming
Zombie Epoch:Deck Apocalypse $7.99 27 62% 810 $6.5k (exactly $6,472) HY Indie Game

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