Should I ship a Chess game?
Chess
Of 115 developers who shipped a Chess 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.. 158 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 1 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $360, ×3.0 the market's $120 for a 1 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $60. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 158 games are announced against 83 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $60 (exactly $60) |
|---|---|
| Median | $359 (exactly $359) |
| Top 25% | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) |
| Top 5% | $29k (exactly $28,794) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 115 |
| Released games | 360 |
| Announced | 158 |
| Effort | 1 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 25% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Chess
- effort 1 / 10 · high · fully specified rules and known engines
What it takes
- Effort
- 1 / 10 · text and UI only
- Systems
- Chess
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 3,612 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $60. 8 in 10 of the 45 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 158 games are announced against 83 developers who shipped in the last year.
All pairs with Chess
- Chess + Fantasy Poor odds $599
- Chess + Medieval Poor odds $598
- Chess + Artificial Intelligence Dead $0
Comparable games
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel 2020 · $2.9M 
Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate 2022 · $1.8M 
Frozen Synapse 2011 · $831k 
Gambonanza 2026 · $721k 
Chess Ultra 2017 · $714k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel | older | $11.99 | 8,097 96% | 243k | $2.9M (exactly $2,912,491) | Conor Petersen, Thunkspace, LLC |
| | Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate | older | $9.99 | 5,918 92% | 178k | $1.8M (exactly $1,773,625) | PUNKCAKE Delicieux |
| | Frozen Synapse | older | $24.99 | 1,108 89% | 33k | $831k (exactly $830,668) | Mode 7 |
| | Gambonanza | $14.99 | 1,604 74% | 48k | $721k (exactly $721,319) | Blukulélé | |
| | Chess Ultra | older | $12.99 | 1,832 76% | 55k | $714k (exactly $713,930) | Ripstone |
 | Still There | older | $14.99 | 770 87% | 23k | $346k (exactly $346,269) | GhostShark |
 | Battle Chess: Game of Kings™ | older | $29.99 | 360 52% | 11k | $324k (exactly $323,892) | Olde Sküül, Sculptured Software |
 | Sex Chess | older | $9.99 | 1,064 78% | 32k | $319k (exactly $318,881) | Evil Boobs Cult |
 | Master of Chess | $19.99 | 290 83% | 8.7k | $174k (exactly $173,913) | BRANE | |
 | King of the Bridge | older | $2.99 | 1,667 95% | 50k | $150k (exactly $149,530) | Finn Schuuring |
 | Passant: A Chess Roguelike | $11.99 | 363 79% | 11k | $131k (exactly $130,571) | Marc Makes Games | |
 | Humiliation Dungeon Survivors | $9.99 | 325 87% | 9.8k | $97k (exactly $97,402) | Naku Kinoko | |
 | Cat Chess | $6.99 | 456 87% | 14k | $96k (exactly $95,623) | Capricia Labs | |
 | Hyper Chess | $2.99 | 321 92% | 9.6k | $29k (exactly $28,794) | Grouch, SuitNtie | |
 | Below the Crown | $14.99 | 64 96% | 1.9k | $29k (exactly $28,781) | Misfits Attic | |
 | WizardChess | $14.99 | 56 83% | 1.7k | $25k (exactly $25,183) | TwoPM Studios | |
 | Chess Infinity | $9.99 | 84 63% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $25,175) | Rockwater Games | |
 | Quantum Chess | $14.99 | 49 63% | 1.5k | $22k (exactly $22,035) | Quantum Realm Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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