Should I ship a Mech Tank game?
Tanks + Mechs
Of 20 developers who shipped a Mech Tank 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.. 40 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 $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $860k, ×1375 the market median. Revenue is up 470% on the market; 40 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) |
| Top 25% | $27k (exactly $26,863) |
| Top 5% | $864k (exactly $863,654) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 20 |
| Released games | 55 |
| Announced | 40 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 470% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Tanks; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Tactical, Action
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 3,608 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Tanks with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + HistoricalFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + Open WorldFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + RPGPoor odds
- + Turn-Based CombatPoor odds
- + Action RTSPoor odds
- + Real Time TacticsPoor odds
- + TacticalPoor odds
Comparable games
Airships: Conquer the Skies 2018 · $4.6M 
Phantom Brigade 2023 · $4.0M 
SAND LAND 2024 · $1.8M 
Metal Slug Tactics 2024 · $864k 
Instruments of Destruction 2024 · $857k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Airships: Conquer the Skies | older | $24.99 | 6,197 95% | 186k | $4.6M (exactly $4,645,891) | David Stark |
| | Phantom Brigade | older | $29.99 | 4,412 81% | 132k | $4.0M (exactly $3,969,476) | Brace Yourself Games |
| | SAND LAND | older | $59.99 | 1,018 86% | 31k | $1.8M (exactly $1,832,095) | ILCA, Inc. |
| | Metal Slug Tactics | $24.99 | 1,152 76% | 35k | $864k (exactly $863,654) | Leikir Studio | |
| | Instruments of Destruction | older | $19.99 | 1,429 91% | 43k | $857k (exactly $856,971) | Radiangames |
 | CUSTOM MECH WARS | older | $49.99 | 563 41% | 17k | $844k (exactly $844,331) | D3PUBLISHER |
 | FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake | older | $34.99 | 745 77% | 22k | $782k (exactly $782,026) | Forever Entertainment S. A. |
 | Model Builder: Complete Edition | older | $19.99 | 1,058 74% | 32k | $634k (exactly $634,483) | Moonlit S.A. |
 | FRONT MISSION 3: Remake | $34.99 | 453 74% | 14k | $476k (exactly $475,514) | MegaPixel Studio S.A. | |
 | Nitro Express | $12.99 | 1,069 75% | 32k | $417k (exactly $416,589) | Grayfax Software | |
 | Mech Havoc | · EA | $9.99 | 813 96% | 24k | $244k (exactly $243,656) | Mid Development |
 | Tactical Annihilation | $15.99 | 56 98% | 1.7k | $27k (exactly $26,863) | B.G. Game Studio | |
 | Exo Wanderers | · EA | $11.99 | 22 100% | 660 | $7.9k (exactly $7,913) | 什工坊SueStudio |
 | Vehicle No. 4 | $6.99 | 23 86% | 690 | $4.8k (exactly $4,823) | indiejoh | |
 | Oath of Steel | $18.99 | 4 0% | 120 | $2.3k (exactly $2,279) | Ling Jun | |
 | Battle Echoes | $6.99 | 7 85% | 210 | $1.5k (exactly $1,468) | rose may games | |
 | Tanks 3D | $4.99 | 9 100% | 270 | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) | yp3d |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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