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Should I ship a Life Sim Tactical RPG?
Tactical RPG + Life Sim
Only 16 developers shipped a Life Sim Tactical RPG 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.. 26 more are announced, ×5.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $7.7k, ×12 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $300k, ×490 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 26 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $390 (exactly $390) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.7k (exactly $7,727) |
| Top 25% | $55k (exactly $54,891) |
| Top 5% | $307k (exactly $307,440) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 45 |
| Announced | 26 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.00 |
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 70% on the market, supply 55% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, 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
- Life Sim
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Tactical RPG, Life Sim; all of the top 25% also carry RPG, Sandbox, Strategy RPG
- Price point
- $9.00 typical · top 25% priced $28.00 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $28.00 or above; the middle game at $9.00.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 1,456 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $390. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.2 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Punch Club 2: Fast Forward | older | $19.99 | 3,808 81% | 114k | $2.3M (exactly $2,283,658) | Lazy Bear Games |
| | One Military Camp | older | $24.99 | 684 75% | 21k | $513k (exactly $512,795) | Abylight Barcelona |
| | The End of History | · EA | $28.00 | 366 68% | 11k | $307k (exactly $307,440) | Tatamibeya |
| | This Grand Life 2 | $17.99 | 307 88% | 9.2k | $166k (exactly $165,688) | Poking Water Games | |
| | Ninja Village | older | $8.99 | 546 93% | 16k | $147k (exactly $147,256) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd |
| | Monarch : Medieval Remastered | $11.99 | 365 80% | 11k | $131k (exactly $131,290) | Mr.Lordy | |
| | Lost Scavenger | · EA older | $14.99 | 220 51% | 6.6k | $99k (exactly $98,934) | Rockbee |
| | Song's Fantasy | $7.99 | 229 55% | 6.9k | $55k (exactly $54,891) | 南十字座工作室 | |
| | Medieval Legacy | $19.99 | 66 86% | 2.0k | $40k (exactly $39,580) | Ninetoplay | |
| | Social Justice Warriors | older | $7.99 | 100 50% | 3.0k | $24k (exactly $23,970) | Nonadecimal Creative |
| | Punch to Glory | $6.99 | 42 92% | 1.3k | $8.8k (exactly $8,807) | Musa GUNGOR | |
| | MagicCar of Delicious | $9.99 | 26 76% | 780 | $7.8k (exactly $7,792) | YINGGUO GAME | |
| | 中年失业模拟器2-When a man lose his job 2 | $5.99 | 43 60% | 1.3k | $7.7k (exactly $7,727) | Kwing works | |
| | Pop Star Life | $4.99 | 9 66% | 270 | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) | Rakun Interactive | |
| | Breeding Estate | $9.00 | 3 0% | 90 | $810 (exactly $810) | びゅびゅ丸★ |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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