Do I ship it?

Games › Tactical › Tactical + Level Editor

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Level Editor Tactical game?

Tactical + Level Editor

Of 54 developers who shipped a Level Editor Tactical 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.. 95 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $9.2M, ×14712 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 95 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 95 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tactical + Level Editor
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 54
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $809 → $599 → $38k → $1.0k → $1.9k → $4.4k (still earning) → $2.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tactical + Level Editor: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 54
Bottom 30% $899 (exactly $899)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,398)
Top 25% $27k (exactly $26,863)
Top 5% $9.2M (exactly $9,239,303)
Developers, 2 yr 54
Released games 171
Announced 95
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 40% on the market, supply 30% fewer 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.

Tactical
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Level Editor
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Tactical, Level Editor; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RTS, Simulation
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 55,599 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $26k, 1 in 20 over $9.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 95 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Tactical with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Football (American)Strong odds12 devs · median $5.8k · 8 announced
  2. + Mystery DungeonStrong odds20 devs · median $2.5k · 15 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair13 devs · median $11k · 9 announced
  4. + 6DOFFair14 devs · median $2.4k · 19 announced
  5. + Word GameFair23 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 9 announced
  7. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $1.0k · 10 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair38 devs · median $987 · 57 announced
  9. + Dynamic NarrationFair13 devs · median $899 · 16 announced
  10. + Farming SimFair12 devs · median $897 · 10 announced
  11. + SolitaireFair25 devs · median $479 · 22 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Fair20 devs · median $479 · 21 announced

All 226 pairs on the Tactical page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition 2025 · $11M Diplomacy is Not an Option 2024 · $9.8M Forts 2017 · $9.5M Door Kickers 2: Task Force North 2025 · $9.2M Men of War II 2024 · $7.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition $29.99 12,286 85% 369k $11M (exactly $11,053,714) Relic Entertainment
Diplomacy is Not an Option $29.99 10,904 85% 327k $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) Door 407
Forts older $14.99 21,216 92% 636k $9.5M (exactly $9,540,835) EarthWork Games
Door Kickers 2: Task Force North $24.99 12,324 96% 370k $9.2M (exactly $9,239,303) KillHouse Games
Men of War II older $44.99 5,614 60% 168k $7.6M (exactly $7,577,216) Best Way
Age of History 3 $9.99 18,102 85% 543k $5.4M (exactly $5,425,169) Łukasz Jakowski
Door Kickers older $19.99 8,041 94% 241k $4.8M (exactly $4,822,188) KillHouse Games
Sudden Strike 4 older $19.99 6,249 78% 187k $3.7M (exactly $3,747,525) Kite Games
Door Kickers: Action Squad older $13.99 8,778 95% 263k $3.7M (exactly $3,684,127) PixelShard, KillHouse Games
Creeper World 4 older $24.99 4,553 94% 137k $3.4M (exactly $3,413,384) Knuckle Cracker
Creeper World IXE $19.99 855 69% 26k $513k (exactly $512,743) Knuckle Cracker
Annihilate The Spance · EA $29.99 347 90% 10k $312k (exactly $312,196) Skyglow Softworks
Armored Brigade II $39.99 147 87% 4.4k $176k (exactly $176,356) Veitikka Studios
Pro Basketball Manager 2025 $24.99 169 68% 5.1k $127k (exactly $126,699) Umix Studios
States of Power $11.99 344 88% 10k $124k (exactly $123,737) Sarunas
Pro Basketball Manager 2026 $29.99 121 69% 3.6k $109k (exactly $108,864) Umix Studios

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