Do I ship it?

Games › Tactical RPG › Tactical RPG + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Tactical RPG?

Tactical RPG + Horror

Of 33 developers who shipped a Horror 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.. 59 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×5.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×457 the market median. Revenue is up 1810% on the market; 59 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 1810% on the market, 59 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tactical RPG + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $300 → $3.6k → $3.6k → $300 → $4.2k → $0 (still earning) → $140k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tactical RPG + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 25% $6.5k (exactly $6,475)
Top 5% $287k (exactly $287,120)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 92
Announced 59
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 1810% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Tactical RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Tactical RPG; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Turn-Based Tactics, RPG, Turn-Based Combat
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Dark, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 2,373 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $6.4k, 1 in 20 over $280k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. All of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Tactical RPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair24 devs · median $9.0k · 29 announced
  2. + Mystery DungeonFair30 devs · median $2.4k · 24 announced
  3. + Space SimFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 15 announced
  4. + Point & ClickFair21 devs · median $839 · 26 announced
  5. + 2D PlatformerFair58 devs · median $599 · 49 announced
  6. + Asynchronous MultiplayerPoor odds10 devs · median $63k · 16 announced
  7. + Colony SimPoor odds16 devs · median $41k · 29 announced
  8. + SandboxPoor odds42 devs · median $20k · 102 announced
  9. + Turn-BasedPoor odds61 devs · median $18k · 81 announced
  10. + RobotsPoor odds15 devs · median $17k · 27 announced
  11. + RomancePoor odds23 devs · median $10k · 38 announced
  12. + WarPoor odds80 devs · median $8.7k · 143 announced

All 145 pairs on the Tactical RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Phoenix Point 2020 · $4.0M Disciples: Liberation 2021 · $3.2M Hard West 2 2022 · $2.4M Deadeye Deepfake Simulacrum 2025 · $327k Lakeview Valley 2019 · $319k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Phoenix Point older $24.99 5,375 73% 161k $4.0M (exactly $4,029,637) Snapshot Games Inc.
Disciples: Liberation older $39.99 2,706 73% 81k $3.2M (exactly $3,246,388) Frima Studio
Hard West 2 older $29.99 2,717 80% 82k $2.4M (exactly $2,444,485) Ice Code Games
Deadeye Deepfake Simulacrum $12.99 839 98% 25k $327k (exactly $326,958) nodayshalleraseyou
Lakeview Valley older $14.99 710 82% 21k $319k (exactly $319,287) Roope Tamminen
Vultures - Scavengers of Death $17.99 532 81% 16k $287k (exactly $287,120) Team Vultures
Gorky 17 older $9.99 921 86% 28k $276k (exactly $276,024) Metropolis Software
Stirring Abyss older $24.99 334 88% 10k $250k (exactly $250,400) Sleepy Sentry, K-Project
Alien Shooter TD older $9.99 676 84% 20k $203k (exactly $202,597) Sigma Team Inc.
Tenebris: Terra Incognita $19.99 313 79% 9.4k $188k (exactly $187,706) Phantasmica Studios
Nightmare Frontier $24.99 187 69% 5.6k $140k (exactly $140,194) Ice Code Games
Entropy · EA $11.99 293 94% 8.8k $105k (exactly $105,392) Lovely Hellplace
Revelatio $10.99 86 91% 2.6k $28k (exactly $28,354) Guild Studio
Ex Sanguis · EA $19.99 45 77% 1.4k $27k (exactly $26,986) Lightbulb Crew
Paracom $10.99 21 90% 630 $6.9k (exactly $6,924) Steel Widow Klan
Void Scout $11.99 18 83% 540 $6.5k (exactly $6,475) Adversity Games Ltd.
Day Zero · EA $4.99 39 79% 1.2k $5.8k (exactly $5,838) Imdie Studios

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