Do I ship it?

GamesTactical RPGTactical RPG + Mystery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Tactical RPG?

Tactical RPG + Mystery

Of 36 developers who shipped a Mystery Tactical RPG 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.. 64 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×201 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 64 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 64 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tactical RPG + Mystery
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $1.9k → $8.1k → $4.1k → $1.8k → $5.8k → $899 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tactical RPG + Mystery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,348)
Top 25% $5.8k (exactly $5,756)
Top 5% $126k (exactly $126,366)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 90
Announced 64
Effort 5 / 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 down 10% on the market, supply 75% 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.

Tactical RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Mystery
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Tactical RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 2,221 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $5.7k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 64 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Tactical RPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair24 devs · median $9.0k · 29 announced
  2. + Mystery DungeonFair30 devs · median $2.4k · 24 announced
  3. + Space SimFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 15 announced
  4. + Point & ClickFair21 devs · median $839 · 26 announced
  5. + 2D PlatformerFair58 devs · median $599 · 49 announced
  6. + Asynchronous MultiplayerPoor odds10 devs · median $63k · 16 announced
  7. + Colony SimPoor odds16 devs · median $41k · 29 announced
  8. + SandboxPoor odds42 devs · median $20k · 102 announced
  9. + Turn-BasedPoor odds61 devs · median $18k · 81 announced
  10. + RobotsPoor odds15 devs · median $17k · 27 announced
  11. + RomancePoor odds23 devs · median $10k · 38 announced
  12. + WarPoor odds80 devs · median $8.7k · 143 announced

All 145 pairs on the Tactical RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tactical Breach Wizards older $19.99 11,485 97% 345k $6.9M (exactly $6,887,554) Suspicious Developments
Digimon Survive older $59.99 3,124 78% 94k $5.6M (exactly $5,622,263) HYDE, Inc.
Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery older $24.99 4,861 78% 146k $3.6M (exactly $3,644,292) Shanghai Sunborn Network Technology Co.… (Shanghai Sunborn Network Technology Co., Ltd.)
Escape from Ever After $24.99 1,537 96% 46k $1.2M (exactly $1,152,289) Sleepy Castle Studio, Wing-It! Creative
Wintermoor Tactics Club older $14.99 538 87% 16k $242k (exactly $241,939) EVC Games
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows older $19.99 348 88% 10k $209k (exactly $208,696) Witching Hour Studios
King of the Bridge older $2.99 1,667 95% 50k $150k (exactly $149,530) Finn Schuuring
Deified · EA $14.99 281 96% 8.4k $126k (exactly $126,366) Unexpected
Caves of Lore older $9.99 408 93% 12k $122k (exactly $122,278) by Mike Robins
Black Legend older $19.99 172 62% 5.2k $103k (exactly $103,148) Warcave
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown $19.99 160 89% 4.8k $96k (exactly $95,952) Strange Scaffold
Dissimilar $18.99 29 89% 870 $17k (exactly $16,521) Opal Grave Games
Deadlock Station $9.99 55 80% 1.7k $16k (exactly $16,484) Luxorix Games
Encounter: The Lost Cards $12.99 38 68% 1.1k $15k (exactly $14,809) Salvatore Grosso
Prison Notes $9.99 38 94% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) 闻岚工坊(Vinland Studio)
diffiCULT · EA $4.99 52 94% 1.6k $7.8k (exactly $7,784) Ouz Games
Expedition: Shadow World $15.99 12 100% 360 $5.8k (exactly $5,756) Pavel Tanonov
Climber Girl $7.99 19 36% 570 $4.6k (exactly $4,554) AlterLab Development

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