Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Tactical RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Tactical RPG?

Building + Tactical RPG

Of 35 developers who shipped a Building 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.. 68 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×4.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $3.2M, ×5150 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 68 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 68 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Tactical RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $135k → $5.4k → $4.5k → $17k → $2.5k → $1.0k (still earning) → $330 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Tactical RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,545)
Top 25% $33k (exactly $33,289)
Top 5% $3.2M (exactly $3,234,206)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 101
Announced 68
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 90% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Tactical RPG
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
Building, Tactical RPG; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Strategy, Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 12,320 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $33k, 1 in 20 over $3.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 68 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Building with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  2. + CatsFair52 devs · median $4.5k · 59 announced
  3. + TabletopFair56 devs · median $1.9k · 58 announced
  4. + Grid-Based MovementFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  5. + Interactive FictionFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced
  6. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $303k · 40 announced
  7. + JRPGPoor odds10 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  8. + Dating SimPoor odds28 devs · median $85k · 61 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds112 devs · median $71k · 251 announced
  10. + Real-TimePoor odds14 devs · median $62k · 20 announced
  11. + CrimePoor odds13 devs · median $55k · 52 announced
  12. + SailingPoor odds13 devs · median $52k · 40 announced

All 210 pairs on the Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

RimWorld 2018 · $219M Heroes' Vow: Three Kingdoms 2025 · EA · $4.0M Mind Over Magic 2025 · $3.2M Gladiator Guild Manager 2024 · $1.7M Master of Magic 2022 · $1.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
RimWorld older $34.99 208,693 97% 6.3M $219M (exactly $219,065,042) Ludeon Studios
Heroes' Vow: Three Kingdoms · EA $19.99 6,652 88% 200k $4.0M (exactly $3,989,204) Free Wing
Mind Over Magic $24.99 4,314 86% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,234,206) Sparkypants
Gladiator Guild Manager older $14.99 3,808 80% 114k $1.7M (exactly $1,712,458) Entertainment Forge
Master of Magic older $39.99 1,023 71% 31k $1.2M (exactly $1,227,293) MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio
War Hospital older $29.99 1,006 60% 30k $905k (exactly $905,098) Brave Lamb Studio S.A.
One Military Camp older $24.99 684 75% 21k $513k (exactly $512,795) Abylight Barcelona
Valorborn · EA $24.99 492 60% 15k $369k (exactly $368,852) Laps Games
Thrive: Heavy Lies The Crown $27.99 374 54% 11k $314k (exactly $314,048) Zugalu Entertainment
TFM: The First Men · EA older $24.99 372 55% 11k $279k (exactly $278,888) Gathering Tree
Outland Kingdoms · EA $24.99 72 73% 2.2k $54k (exactly $53,978) GBL
Edge Islands · EA $17.99 93 74% 2.8k $50k (exactly $50,192) LS Games
Lords of Ravage $9.99 138 66% 4.1k $41k (exactly $41,359) Synthetic Domain
Oasis Mission: Colony Sim $14.99 91 56% 2.7k $41k (exactly $40,923) Lunar pug studio
Headquarters: Cold War $29.99 37 64% 1.1k $33k (exactly $33,289) Starni Games
Rising Army $11.99 57 64% 1.7k $21k (exactly $20,503) Arkbits

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