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Should I ship an Interactive Fiction Tactical RPG?
Tactical RPG + Interactive Fiction
Of 24 developers who shipped an Interactive Fiction 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.. 34 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $78k, ×125 the market median. Revenue is up 1110% on the market; 34 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,544) |
| Top 25% | $22k (exactly $22,035) |
| Top 5% | $79k (exactly $78,796) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 53 |
| Announced | 34 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 1110% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Tactical RPG, Interactive Fiction; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Dating Sim
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, 1990's
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 775 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Tactical RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + Space SimFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + RobotsPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
- + WarPoor odds
Comparable games
Fabled Lands 2022 · $298k 
Love of Magic 2020 · $188k 
Erannorth Renaissance 2025 · $112k 
Lost Scavenger 2022 · EA · $99k 
The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time 2026 · $79k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Fabled Lands | older | $18.99 | 523 79% | 16k | $298k (exactly $297,953) | Prime Games |
| | Love of Magic | older | $14.99 | 417 88% | 13k | $188k (exactly $187,525) | Droid Productions |
| | Erannorth Renaissance | $19.99 | 186 81% | 5.6k | $112k (exactly $111,544) | Spyridon Thalassinos | |
| | Lost Scavenger | · EA older | $14.99 | 220 51% | 6.6k | $99k (exactly $98,934) | Rockbee |
| | The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time | $17.99 | 146 86% | 4.4k | $79k (exactly $78,796) | Coin Drop Games, Lucas Immanuel, jucobe… (Coin Drop Games, Lucas Immanuel, jucobee, Kyle Chuang) | |
 | Vampire Syndicate: Gangs of MoonFall | · EA | $19.99 | 111 71% | 3.3k | $67k (exactly $66,567) | A Memory of Eternity |
 | Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown | older | $19.99 | 110 77% | 3.3k | $66k (exactly $65,967) | Tin Man Games, Zero One Studio |
 | Horny Housewives 2 | $14.99 | 146 63% | 4.4k | $66k (exactly $65,656) | Entropy Digital Entertainment | |
 | LABYRINTHOS: The Depths Want You | $24.99 | 57 84% | 1.7k | $43k (exactly $42,733) | Astronauts | |
 | Wings of Empire | · EA | $14.99 | 49 87% | 1.5k | $22k (exactly $22,035) | Droid Productions |
 | Sword Mistress of the Dungeon Town | $17.99 | 38 65% | 1.1k | $21k (exactly $20,509) | ラブリープリチー超愛してる, Lovely Pretty Ultra Lov… (ラブリープリチー超愛してる, Lovely Pretty Ultra Loving You) | |
 | Haunted ROM: The Lost Cartridge | $9.99 | 14 85% | 420 | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) | Crit42 Studio | |
 | NONEWORLD | $8.99 | 12 83% | 360 | $3.2k (exactly $3,236) | Millie Snowfall | |
 | The Lands of Hyberian | $4.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $2.4k (exactly $2,395) | SkyWeb Technologies LLC |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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