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Should I ship a Crafting Tactical RPG?
Crafting + Tactical RPG
Of 46 developers who shipped a Crafting 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.. 99 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×587 the market median. Revenue is up 250% on the market; 99 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $419 (exactly $419) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $15,285) |
| Top 5% | $369k (exactly $368,852) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 46 |
| Released games | 128 |
| Announced | 99 |
| 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 up 250% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Crafting
- 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
- Crafting, Tactical RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Party-Based RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 6,587 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 9 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 99 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Crafting with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + SportsFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + IdlerFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + WesternPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mind Over Magic | $24.99 | 4,314 86% | 129k | $3.2M (exactly $3,234,206) | Sparkypants | |
| | SpellForce: Conquest of Eo | older | $29.99 | 2,149 80% | 64k | $1.9M (exactly $1,933,455) | Owned by Gravity |
| | Aces & Adventures | older | $19.99 | 2,220 89% | 67k | $1.3M (exactly $1,331,334) | Triple.B.Titles |
| | Labyrinth of Touhou Tri -The Dreaming Girls & The Mysterious Orbs- | $19.99 | 616 82% | 18k | $369k (exactly $369,415) | Nise-Eikoku Studio | |
| | Valorborn | · EA | $24.99 | 492 60% | 15k | $369k (exactly $368,852) | Laps Games |
| | Shardpunk | older | $13.99 | 739 92% | 22k | $310k (exactly $310,158) | Clockwork Pile |
| | TFM: The First Men | · EA older | $24.99 | 372 55% | 11k | $279k (exactly $278,888) | Gathering Tree |
| | Stirring Abyss | older | $24.99 | 334 88% | 10k | $250k (exactly $250,400) | Sleepy Sentry, K-Project |
| | Philna Fantasy | $14.99 | 477 52% | 14k | $215k (exactly $214,507) | Sailike Game | |
| | Ascend From Nine Mountains | · EA | $19.99 | 324 92% | 9.7k | $194k (exactly $194,303) | Nine Ascension Studios |
| | Avernum 4: Greed and Glory | $19.99 | 133 92% | 4.0k | $80k (exactly $79,760) | Spiderweb Software | |
| | Effulgence RPG | $19.99 | 65 87% | 2.0k | $39k (exactly $38,980) | Andrei Fomin | |
| | Sin Slayers: Reign of The 8th | $19.99 | 59 64% | 1.8k | $35k (exactly $35,382) | Goonswarm Games | |
| | Cosplay Club | $18.99 | 41 60% | 1.2k | $23k (exactly $23,358) | Behold Studios | |
| | Next Run | $9.99 | 66 75% | 2.0k | $20k (exactly $19,780) | Clarus Victoria |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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