Do I ship it?

GamesReal Time TacticsReal Time Tactics + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Real Time Tactics?

Real Time Tactics + Horror

Of 37 developers who shipped a Horror Real Time Tactics 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.. 50 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×182 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 50 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 50 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Real Time Tactics + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 37
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $300 → $1.5k → $449 → $300 → $120 → $2.6k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Real Time Tactics + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 37
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $3.3k (exactly $3,297)
Top 5% $114k (exactly $114,186)
Developers, 2 yr 37
Released games 119
Announced 50
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 up 80% on the market, supply 20% 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.

Real Time Tactics
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Horror
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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
Real Time Tactics; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RTS, Roguelite
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.49 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.49 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 1,588 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $450, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Real Time Tactics with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + DragonsStrong odds17 devs · median $6.6k · 19 announced
  2. + Outbreak SimFair12 devs · median $1.8k · 14 announced
  3. + HackingFair11 devs · median $987 · 11 announced
  4. + World War IIPoor odds24 devs · median $67k · 35 announced
  5. + Cold WarPoor odds9 devs · median $19k · 16 announced
  6. + HistoricalPoor odds88 devs · median $19k · 154 announced
  7. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds19 devs · median $16k · 31 announced
  8. + Real-TimePoor odds16 devs · median $16k · 26 announced
  9. + MechsPoor odds16 devs · median $13k · 32 announced
  10. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds20 devs · median $9.6k · 50 announced
  11. + God GamePoor odds19 devs · median $7.8k · 32 announced
  12. + Open WorldPoor odds29 devs · median $7.2k · 111 announced

All 176 pairs on the Real Time Tactics page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Aliens: Dark Descent older $39.99 15,310 87% 459k $18M (exactly $18,367,407) Tindalos Interactive
Dungeons 3 older $29.99 12,648 93% 379k $11M (exactly $11,379,406) Realmforge Studios
Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance older $39.99 3,395 82% 102k $4.1M (exactly $4,072,982) Slitherine Ltd.
At Dead Of Night older $15.99 3,289 94% 99k $1.6M (exactly $1,577,733) Baggy Cat Ltd.
Duskers older $19.99 2,304 90% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,381,709) Misfits Attic
Command & Conquer™ 4 Tiberian Twilight older $6.96 4,832 16% 145k $1.0M (exactly $1,008,922) EA Los Angeles
Children of the Sun older $14.99 2,005 92% 60k $902k (exactly $901,648) René Rother
Yokai Art: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons older $6.99 1,132 89% 34k $237k (exactly $237,380) Secret Labo
Alien Shooter TD older $9.99 676 84% 20k $203k (exactly $202,597) Sigma Team Inc.
Xenopurge $12.49 419 84% 13k $157k (exactly $156,999) Traptics
After Long Night $9.99 381 72% 11k $114k (exactly $114,186) 疯狗工作室
Yokai Art 2: Tales of the Nine-Tails $9.99 314 75% 9.4k $94k (exactly $94,106) Secret Labo
Smilers Den Deluxxx $6.99 160 84% 4.8k $34k (exactly $33,552) MikiY
Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire $19.99 41 70% 1.2k $25k (exactly $24,588) Schell Games
Aestheta $2.99 198 89% 5.9k $18k (exactly $17,761) AploveStudio
Only Out $4.99 40 95% 1.2k $6.0k (exactly $5,988) Shark Studio
Rogue Citadel $9.99 15 86% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) MalumGames
America Against Ants $14.99 9 100% 270 $4.0k (exactly $4,047) Aartform Games, Mark Brendan
Maniac Path 4 $9.99 11 100% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Gamesforgames

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