Games › Tactical › Tactical + Asynchronous Multiplayer
Should I ship an Asynchronous Multiplayer Tactical game?
Tactical + Asynchronous Multiplayer
Of 39 developers who shipped an Asynchronous Multiplayer Tactical 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.. 68 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $8.5M, ×13558 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 68 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $600 (exactly $600) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.4k (exactly $2,395) |
| Top 25% | $60k (exactly $59,810) |
| Top 5% | $8.5M (exactly $8,514,170) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 39 |
| Released games | 89 |
| Announced | 68 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 down 80% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Tactical
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Asynchronous Multiplayer
- effort 5 / 10 · low · a backend with accounts and persistent turns
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Tactical, Asynchronous Multiplayer; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, PvP, Auto Battler
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 39,404 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 68 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Tactical with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Football (American)Strong odds
- + Mystery DungeonStrong odds
- + Dating SimFair
- + 6DOFFair
- + Word GameFair
- + TypingFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Dynamic NarrationFair
- + Farming SimFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
Comparable games
The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M 
Backpack Battles 2025 · $8.5M 
Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector 2021 · $6.1M 
Meet Your Maker 2023 · $1.8M 
Despot's Game: Dystopian Battle Simulator 2022 · $1.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Bazaar | $19.99 | 14,931 70% | 448k | $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) | Tempo | |
| | Backpack Battles | $14.99 | 18,933 91% | 568k | $8.5M (exactly $8,514,170) | PlayWithFurcifer | |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector | older | $39.99 | 5,064 88% | 152k | $6.1M (exactly $6,075,281) | Slitherine Ltd. |
| | Meet Your Maker | older | $19.99 | 3,013 73% | 90k | $1.8M (exactly $1,806,896) | Behaviour Interactive Inc. |
| | Despot's Game: Dystopian Battle Simulator | older | $19.99 | 2,878 83% | 86k | $1.7M (exactly $1,725,937) | Konfa Games |
 | Shadow Empire | older | $39.99 | 1,431 82% | 43k | $1.7M (exactly $1,716,771) | VR Designs |
 | Through the Ages | older | $15.99 | 2,188 90% | 66k | $1.0M (exactly $1,049,584) | CGE Digital |
 | Oaken Tower | · EA | $9.99 | 3,024 89% | 91k | $906k (exactly $906,293) | Bocary Studios |
 | Frozen Synapse | older | $24.99 | 1,108 89% | 33k | $831k (exactly $830,668) | Mode 7 |
 | Twilight Struggle | older | $9.99 | 2,568 86% | 77k | $770k (exactly $769,630) | Playdek, Inc. |
 | Down with the Ship | · EA | $14.99 | 817 93% | 25k | $367k (exactly $367,405) | Iron Anchor Games |
 | The Conquest of Go | $14.99 | 581 94% | 17k | $261k (exactly $261,276) | Wolfey Studios | |
 | Yield! Fall of Rome | $19.99 | 219 69% | 6.6k | $131k (exactly $131,334) | Billionworlds | |
 | NEODUEL: Backpack Monsters | $11.99 | 357 79% | 11k | $128k (exactly $128,413) | dicehit, Rogue Duck Interactive | |
 | Cascadia | $14.99 | 210 98% | 6.3k | $94k (exactly $94,437) | Dire Wolf | |
 | Tiny Auto Knights | $14.99 | 199 82% | 6.0k | $89k (exactly $89,490) | Mumpitz Games | |
 | Valefor | $14.99 | 133 66% | 4.0k | $60k (exactly $59,810) | Valefor Ltd |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.