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Should I ship a Combat Tactical RPG?
Combat + Tactical RPG
Of 164 developers who shipped a Combat 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.. 335 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 $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $350k, ×570 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 335 games are announced against 92 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $8.0k (exactly $7,969) |
| Top 5% | $358k (exactly $358,021) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 164 |
| Released games | 415 |
| Announced | 335 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Tactical RPG
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Combat, Tactical RPG; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 11,004 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 92 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 335 games are announced against 92 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Combat with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds
- + 4XFair
- + TypingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + SnowFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Match 3Long shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Political SimPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition 2021 · $51M 
Kingdom Heroes 8 2021 · $12M 
Partisans 1941 2020 · $6.8M 
Dragon Age II: Ultimate Edition 2020 · $6.3M 
Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew 2023 · $6.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition | older | $49.99 | 34,157 83% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $51,225,253) | Owlcat Games |
| | Kingdom Heroes 8 | older | $29.99 | 12,793 55% | 384k | $12M (exactly $11,509,862) | USERJOY Technology Co.,Ltd. |
| | Partisans 1941 | older | $29.99 | 7,531 82% | 226k | $6.8M (exactly $6,775,641) | Alter Games |
| | Dragon Age II: Ultimate Edition | older | $29.99 | 6,953 81% | 209k | $6.3M (exactly $6,255,614) | BioWare |
| | Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew | older | $39.99 | 5,190 91% | 156k | $6.2M (exactly $6,226,443) | Mimimi Games |
 | Sunderfolk | $49.99 | 1,890 93% | 57k | $2.8M (exactly $2,834,433) | Secret Door | |
 | Hard West 2 | older | $29.99 | 2,717 80% | 82k | $2.4M (exactly $2,444,485) | Ice Code Games |
 | Cobalt Core | older | $19.99 | 4,067 95% | 122k | $2.4M (exactly $2,438,980) | Rocket Rat Games |
 | Punch Club 2: Fast Forward | older | $19.99 | 3,808 81% | 114k | $2.3M (exactly $2,283,658) | Lazy Bear Games |
 | The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak | older | $59.99 | 1,172 91% | 35k | $2.1M (exactly $2,109,248) | Nihon Falcom, PH3 GmbH |
 | PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY | $29.99 | 2,091 83% | 63k | $1.9M (exactly $1,881,273) | SAS CO.,LTD. | |
 | Three Kingdoms Mushouden | $24.99 | 1,876 72% | 56k | $1.4M (exactly $1,406,437) | NanBei Studio | |
 | Metal Slug Tactics | $24.99 | 1,152 76% | 35k | $864k (exactly $863,654) | Leikir Studio | |
 | Rogue Waters | $29.99 | 955 75% | 29k | $859k (exactly $859,214) | Ice Code Games | |
 | Titanium Court | $14.99 | 1,094 94% | 33k | $492k (exactly $491,972) | AP Thomson | |
 | Terrinoth®: Heroes of Descent | $34.99 | 441 75% | 13k | $463k (exactly $462,918) | Artefacts Studio, Shine Group | |
 | The Three Kingdoms: The Tales of Jian An | $17.99 | 690 88% | 21k | $372k (exactly $372,393) | 开翼网络 | |
 | Netherworld Covenant | $19.99 | 597 78% | 18k | $358k (exactly $358,021) | MadGoat Game Studio | |
 | Disciples: Domination | $44.99 | 218 65% | 6.5k | $294k (exactly $294,235) | Artefacts Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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