Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Tabletop

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Tabletop game?

Combat + Tabletop

Of 51 developers who shipped a Combat Tabletop 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.. 83 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $480, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $460k, ×737 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 83 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 83 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Tabletop
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 51
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $43k → $1.1k → $2.5k → $748 → $0 → $475 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Tabletop: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 51
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $3.2k (exactly $3,236)
Top 5% $463k (exactly $462,918)
Developers, 2 yr 51
Released games 113
Announced 83
Effort 5 / 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 up 10% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Tabletop
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat, Tabletop; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Tactical, Turn-Based Tactics
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $22.99 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 $22.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 5,336 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $480, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $460k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. Nearly all of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 83 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Ultimate General: Civil War 2017 · $7.5M Sunderfolk 2025 · $2.8M Dune: Imperium 2024 · $2.6M Tabletop Tavern 2026 · $1.2M The Troop 2023 · $979k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ultimate General: Civil War older $29.99 8,331 88% 250k $7.5M (exactly $7,495,401) Game-Labs
Sunderfolk $49.99 1,890 93% 57k $2.8M (exactly $2,834,433) Secret Door
Dune: Imperium older $22.99 3,806 94% 114k $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) Dire Wolf
Tabletop Tavern $19.99 2,049 89% 61k $1.2M (exactly $1,228,785) TJ
The Troop older $39.99 816 83% 24k $979k (exactly $978,955) Giant Flame
Big Bia older $14.99 1,296 69% 39k $583k (exactly $582,811) Pixel House Games
Foretales older $19.99 779 87% 23k $467k (exactly $467,166) Alkemi
Terrinoth®: Heroes of Descent $34.99 441 75% 13k $463k (exactly $462,918) Artefacts Studio, Shine Group
Field of Glory II: Medieval older $29.99 424 86% 13k $381k (exactly $381,473) Byzantine Games
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain older $19.99 352 76% 11k $211k (exactly $211,094) Tin Man Games
Marisa of Liartop Mountain $14.99 286 84% 8.6k $129k (exactly $128,614) Alliance Arts, UnknownX
Space Imperia 4X $22.99 70 92% 2.1k $48k (exactly $48,279) Breich Games
Draw Steel · EA $19.99 67 98% 2.0k $40k (exactly $40,180) Verisim, MCDM
Eclipse - 2nd Dawn for the Galaxy $12.99 95 57% 2.9k $37k (exactly $37,022) BrettspielWelt GmbH
Book of Fei $2.99 347 93% 10k $31k (exactly $31,126) TAO Studio
Combat Directive : Napoleonic Wars $19.99 36 88% 1.1k $22k (exactly $21,589) Fatice Games
劍紙三國 $12.99 55 98% 1.7k $21k (exactly $21,434) JGame CO., LTD.

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