Do I ship it?

GamesReal Time TacticsReal Time Tactics + Life Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Life Sim Real Time Tactics?

Real Time Tactics + Life Sim

Only 15 developers shipped a Life Sim Real Time Tactics in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, The End of History, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 44 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $300k, ×490 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 44 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 44 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Real Time Tactics + Life Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $1.5k → $3.9k → $1.9k → $3.2k → $179 → $4.2k (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Real Time Tactics + Life Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $6.6k (exactly $6,594)
Top 5% $307k (exactly $307,440)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 59
Announced 44
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 down 50% on the market, supply 175% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Life Sim
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, Life Sim; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Immersive Sim
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $28.00 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $28.00 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 69% positive over 550 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 $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $6.5k, 1 in 20 over $300k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Real Time Tactics with a different second tag, 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
Game Dev Story older $8.99 1,445 89% 43k $390k (exactly $389,716) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
The Pioneers: Surviving Desolation · EA older $29.99 397 63% 12k $357k (exactly $357,181) Supercube
The End of History · EA $28.00 366 68% 11k $307k (exactly $307,440) Tatamibeya
Dungeon Village older $8.99 829 88% 25k $224k (exactly $223,581) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Dungeon Village 2 older $8.99 662 86% 20k $179k (exactly $178,541) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
The Sushi Spinnery older $8.99 411 92% 12k $111k (exactly $110,847) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Uncharted Ocean older $4.99 563 70% 17k $84k (exactly $84,281) HiRabbitgame
Rugby Union Team Manager 4 older $39.99 60 70% 1.8k $72k (exactly $71,982) Alternative Software Ltd
Hot Springs Story older $8.99 265 81% 8.0k $71k (exactly $71,470) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Tennis Manager 25 $19.99 76 68% 2.3k $46k (exactly $45,577) Rebound
Car Hustle Simulator · EA $14.99 26 73% 780 $12k (exactly $11,692) Silent Code Games
Towerfolk · EA $10.99 20 70% 600 $6.6k (exactly $6,594) 99 Interactive
Phone Flipper Simulator $9.99 14 64% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Deep Luck Game
Cargo Shop Simulator $3.99 27 70% 810 $3.2k (exactly $3,232) Enginar Games
Pinevale Settlements · EA $7.99 8 62% 240 $1.9k (exactly $1,918) Kinetic Quasar Games
On Hold - Call Center Simulator · EA $4.99 10 100% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Throwdown Games
HALFTIME Manager · EA $14.99 2 100% 60 $899 (exactly $899) Lazybraindev
Maritime Simulator · EA $12.99 1 100% 30 $390 (exactly $390) Vector Studios

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