Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Tanks

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Tank game?

Combat + Tanks

Of 57 developers who shipped a Combat Tank 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.. 106 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $860k, ×1375 the market median. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 106 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 90% on the market, 106 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Tanks
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 57
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.3k → $449 → $599 → $599 → $807 → $299 → $898 (still earning) → $629 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Tanks: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 57
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $3.2k (exactly $3,236)
Top 5% $864k (exactly $863,654)
Developers, 2 yr 57
Released games 220
Announced 106
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 90% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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
Tanks
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
Combat, Tanks; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Strategy, Wargame
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 7,777 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 $600, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $860k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 106 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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

Sudden Strike 4 2017 · $3.7M Regiments 2022 · $2.5M Call to Arms: Panzer Elite 2025 · EA · $1.7M Beyond The Wire 2022 · $1.6M Panzer Knights 2021 · $1.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sudden Strike 4 older $19.99 6,249 78% 187k $3.7M (exactly $3,747,525) Kite Games
Regiments older $29.99 2,822 87% 85k $2.5M (exactly $2,538,953) Bird's Eye Games
Call to Arms: Panzer Elite · EA $29.99 1,927 69% 58k $1.7M (exactly $1,733,722) Digitalmindsoft
Beyond The Wire older $9.99 5,247 68% 157k $1.6M (exactly $1,572,526) Redstone Interactive
Panzer Knights older $24.99 1,896 79% 57k $1.4M (exactly $1,421,431) 樂磚Joy Brick
Combat Mission Shock Force 2 older $59.99 624 80% 19k $1.1M (exactly $1,123,013) Battlefront
The Troop older $39.99 816 83% 24k $979k (exactly $978,955) Giant Flame
Sudden Strike 5 $49.99 641 75% 19k $961k (exactly $961,308) Kite Games
Metal Slug Tactics $24.99 1,152 76% 35k $864k (exactly $863,654) Leikir Studio
Vietnam War · EA $14.99 1,704 84% 51k $766k (exactly $766,289) Thorium Game Lab
Warside $24.99 547 68% 16k $410k (exactly $410,086) LAVABIRD
Trench Lord: Eastern Front $11.99 774 83% 23k $278k (exactly $278,408) Tracer Studio, LING YUN CO.,LTD.
Mech Havoc · EA $9.99 813 96% 24k $244k (exactly $243,656) Mid Development
Sherman Commander $29.99 117 64% 3.5k $105k (exactly $105,265) Iron Wolf Studio S.A.
Battlefield Commander WWII · EA $19.99 54 70% 1.6k $32k (exactly $32,384) Sword of Steel
Kamikaze Strike: FPV Drone $5.99 48 83% 1.4k $8.6k (exactly $8,626) Dinomore Games

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