Do I ship it?

GamesTacticalTactical + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Tactical game?

Tactical + Cats

Of 21 developers who shipped a Cat 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.. 34 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $94k, ×150 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 34 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 34 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tactical + Cats
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 → $4.4k → $1.2k → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tactical + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $297 (exactly $297)
Median $539 (exactly $539)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,285)
Top 5% $94k (exactly $94,406)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 56
Announced 34
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 35% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Cats
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Tactical; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Strategy, Arcade
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 51,267 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $540, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $94k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Football (American)Strong odds12 devs · median $5.8k · 8 announced
  2. + Mystery DungeonStrong odds20 devs · median $2.5k · 15 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair13 devs · median $11k · 9 announced
  4. + 6DOFFair14 devs · median $2.4k · 19 announced
  5. + Word GameFair23 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 9 announced
  7. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $1.0k · 10 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair38 devs · median $987 · 57 announced
  9. + Dynamic NarrationFair13 devs · median $899 · 16 announced
  10. + Farming SimFair12 devs · median $897 · 10 announced
  11. + SolitaireFair25 devs · median $479 · 22 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Fair20 devs · median $479 · 21 announced

All 226 pairs on the Tactical page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mewgenics $29.99 49,996 89% 1.5M $45M (exactly $44,981,401) Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel
TRIANGLE STRATEGY older $59.99 3,239 78% 97k $5.8M (exactly $5,829,228) Square Enix, ARTDINK
Timelie older $17.99 1,783 95% 53k $962k (exactly $962,285) Urnique Studio
SaGa Emerald Beyond older $49.99 308 72% 9.2k $462k (exactly $461,908) Square Enix
JUSTICE SUCKS: Tactical Vacuum Action older $19.99 199 95% 6.0k $119k (exactly $119,340) Samurai Punk
Backrooms Cats and Lava older $29.99 105 79% 3.2k $94k (exactly $94,468) Galactic Geckon
Maze Mice $9.99 315 88% 9.5k $94k (exactly $94,406) TrampolineTales
スペルトナエル older $8.99 344 97% 10k $93k (exactly $92,777) おまど
Feng Shui Meowjong $4.99 276 95% 8.3k $41k (exactly $41,317) Wavebreak Studio
Sushi Cat Legacy Collection $4.99 263 95% 7.9k $39k (exactly $39,371) Armor Games Studios
Claws Of Power $6.99 170 80% 5.1k $36k (exactly $35,649) 蒜苗
Sushi Cat - Tower Defense $9.99 51 84% 1.5k $15k (exactly $15,285) OverPowered Team
Catboy Aim Trainer · EA $0.99 148 93% 4.4k $4.4k (exactly $4,396) Pantsu Productions
Cat's Wars · EA $1.99 37 81% 1.1k $2.2k (exactly $2,209) Antelus Games
Idle Idle $4.99 8 75% 240 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) Idle Idle
Whimsical Heroes · EA $7.99 3 100% 90 $719 (exactly $719) Whimsical Universes

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