Do I ship it?

GamesTactical RPGTactical RPG + Alternate History

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alternate-History Tactical RPG?

Tactical RPG + Alternate History

Of 21 developers who shipped an Alternate-History Tactical RPG 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.. 64 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.8k, ×6.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×206 the market median. Revenue is up 3285% on the market; 64 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 3285% on the market, 64 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tactical RPG + Alternate History
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: $8.4k → $78k → $2.4k → $6.7k → $1.7k → $599 → $29k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tactical RPG + Alternate History: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $3.8k (exactly $3,838)
Top 25% $29k (exactly $29,495)
Top 5% $129k (exactly $129,132)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 74
Announced 64
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 3285% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 26%, 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.

Tactical RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Alternate History
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
Tactical RPG; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Turn-Based Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics, RPG
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 1,494 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $3.8k, 1 in 4 over $29k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 64 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Tactical RPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair24 devs · median $9.0k · 29 announced
  2. + Mystery DungeonFair30 devs · median $2.4k · 24 announced
  3. + Space SimFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 15 announced
  4. + Point & ClickFair21 devs · median $839 · 26 announced
  5. + 2D PlatformerFair58 devs · median $599 · 49 announced
  6. + Asynchronous MultiplayerPoor odds10 devs · median $63k · 16 announced
  7. + Colony SimPoor odds16 devs · median $41k · 29 announced
  8. + SandboxPoor odds42 devs · median $20k · 102 announced
  9. + Turn-BasedPoor odds61 devs · median $18k · 81 announced
  10. + RobotsPoor odds15 devs · median $17k · 27 announced
  11. + RomancePoor odds23 devs · median $10k · 38 announced
  12. + WarPoor odds80 devs · median $8.7k · 143 announced

All 145 pairs on the Tactical RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery older $24.99 4,861 78% 146k $3.6M (exactly $3,644,292) Shanghai Sunborn Network Technology Co.… (Shanghai Sunborn Network Technology Co., Ltd.)
江湖十一 older $17.99 5,385 42% 162k $2.9M (exactly $2,906,284) 万象皆春
The Lamplighters League older $49.99 726 71% 22k $1.1M (exactly $1,088,782) Harebrained Schemes
Pathway older $15.99 1,908 76% 57k $915k (exactly $915,268) Robotality
Strategic Mind: Blitzkrieg older $39.99 442 84% 13k $530k (exactly $530,267) Starni Games
Strategic Mind: The Pacific older $29.99 538 74% 16k $484k (exactly $484,039) Starni Games
Broken Lines older $24.99 604 76% 18k $453k (exactly $452,819) BirdIsland/PortaPlay
Aether & Iron $24.99 521 84% 16k $391k (exactly $390,594) Seismic Squirrel, Chaos Theory Games
Tales Of Glory older $10.99 1,042 80% 31k $344k (exactly $343,547) BlackTale Games
Earthling's Undertaking older $10.99 930 64% 28k $307k (exactly $306,621) Current Games
Requiem of Reuinis $11.99 359 91% 11k $129k (exactly $129,132) Zaxiquej, Otogen Studio
Water Margin Scrolls $9.99 244 40% 7.3k $73k (exactly $73,127) QingHe Games
Deadrock Redemption 2 $14.99 123 86% 3.7k $55k (exactly $55,313) Entropy Digital Entertainment
Headquarters: Cold War $29.99 37 64% 1.1k $33k (exactly $33,289) Starni Games
Danmo Three Kingdoms: Battle of Wits $11.99 82 76% 2.5k $29k (exactly $29,495) 墨春秋
Wings of Empire · EA $14.99 49 87% 1.5k $22k (exactly $22,035) Droid Productions
NovaMundi $12.99 38 81% 1.1k $15k (exactly $14,809) Slashware Interactive
Demonslayer AKA Me $7.99 34 73% 1.0k $8.2k (exactly $8,150) 晶尘工作室
Reptilian Rising $29.99 7 100% 210 $6.3k (exactly $6,298) Gregarious Games, Robot Circus, Hyper L… (Gregarious Games, Robot Circus, Hyper Luminal Games)

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