Do I ship it?

GamesReal Time TacticsReal Time Tactics + Modern

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Modern-Day Real Time Tactics?

Real Time Tactics + Modern

Of 30 developers who shipped a Modern-Day Real Time Tactics 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.. 45 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×5.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $860k, ×1376 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 45 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 45 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Real Time Tactics + Modern
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $386 → $4.6k → $899 → $3.3k (still earning) → $39k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Real Time Tactics + Modern: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $386 (exactly $386)
Median $3.3k (exactly $3,293)
Top 25% $33k (exactly $32,735)
Top 5% $864k (exactly $863,874)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 87
Announced 45
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 30% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Modern
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; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RTS, Strategy, Simulation
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 57% positive over 29,284 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $390, median $3.3k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $860k.

3 in 10 developers made under $390. 7 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Real Time Tactics with a different setting or mood, 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
Broken Arrow $49.99 25,924 55% 778k $39M (exactly $38,878,223) Steel Balalaika
911 Operator older $14.99 14,416 89% 432k $6.5M (exactly $6,482,875) Jutsu Games
112 Operator older $24.99 5,688 88% 171k $4.3M (exactly $4,264,294) Jutsu Games
Regiments older $29.99 2,822 87% 85k $2.5M (exactly $2,538,953) Bird's Eye Games
Syrian Warfare older $13.99 5,246 86% 157k $2.2M (exactly $2,201,746) Cats Who Play
SuperPower 3 older $29.99 982 10% 29k $884k (exactly $883,505) GolemLabs
Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes $14.99 1,921 90% 58k $864k (exactly $863,874) Cats Who Play
Geo-Political Simulator 5 $59.99 391 34% 12k $704k (exactly $703,683) Eversim
Supreme Ruler 2030 older $29.99 532 65% 16k $479k (exactly $478,640) BattleGoat Studios
Geo-Political Simulator 2026 Edition $59.99 249 48% 7.5k $448k (exactly $448,125) Eversim
Drone Sector · EA $16.99 366 89% 11k $187k (exactly $186,550) Icosphere
AfterWar $34.99 139 72% 4.2k $146k (exactly $145,908) Dmytro Lumen
Riot Operator $14.99 151 25% 4.5k $68k (exactly $67,905) Beta 2 Games
BURNED HORIZONS · EA $44.99 29 34% 870 $39k (exactly $39,141) BURNED HORIZONS STUDIO
DRONE PERSPECTIVE · EA $12.99 84 88% 2.5k $33k (exactly $32,735) Demetri Lind
Status One $14.99 30 73% 900 $13k (exactly $13,491) LastCall Studio

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