Games › Real Time Tactics › Real Time Tactics + Modern
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.
| 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.
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
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
Adjacent niches
Real Time Tactics with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + DragonsStrong odds
- + Outbreak SimFair
- + HackingFair
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + Cold WarPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
- + Vehicular CombatPoor odds
- + God GamePoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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