Do I ship it?

GamesTacticalTactical + Nature

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Nature Tactical game?

Tactical + Nature

Of 65 developers who shipped a Nature Tactical 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.. 126 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 37 developers shipped in the last year and 126 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 126 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tactical + Nature
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 65
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $891 → $150 → $358 → $1.6k → $225 → $1.1k → $300 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tactical + Nature: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 65
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $1.9k (exactly $1,919)
Top 5% $138k (exactly $137,515)
Developers, 2 yr 65
Released games 184
Announced 126
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 65% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Nature
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
Tactical; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Exploration, PvE
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 2,922 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 126 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Football (American)Strong odds12 devs · median $5.8k · 8 announced
  2. + Mystery DungeonStrong odds20 devs · median $2.5k · 15 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair13 devs · median $11k · 9 announced
  4. + 6DOFFair14 devs · median $2.4k · 19 announced
  5. + Word GameFair23 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 9 announced
  7. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $1.0k · 10 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair38 devs · median $987 · 57 announced
  9. + Dynamic NarrationFair13 devs · median $899 · 16 announced
  10. + Farming SimFair12 devs · median $897 · 10 announced
  11. + SolitaireFair25 devs · median $479 · 22 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Fair20 devs · median $479 · 21 announced

All 226 pairs on the Tactical page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Empire of the Ants $39.99 931 73% 28k $1.1M (exactly $1,116,921) Tower Five
The Oregon Trail older $29.99 1,220 79% 37k $1.1M (exactly $1,097,634) Gameloft
Insurmountable older $24.99 832 78% 25k $624k (exactly $623,750) ByteRockers' Games
FEROCIOUS $24.99 742 63% 22k $556k (exactly $556,277) OMYOG
Potentia older $19.99 350 68% 11k $210k (exactly $209,895) Wily Pumpkin
Day of the Shell $14.99 382 68% 11k $172k (exactly $171,785) Duper Games
Tornado: Research and Rescue · EA older $12.99 356 85% 11k $139k (exactly $138,733) Sam Kennedy
Hive Blight · EA $12.49 367 94% 11k $138k (exactly $137,515) OptizOnion
Cascadia $14.99 210 98% 6.3k $94k (exactly $94,437) Dire Wolf
Shields of Loyalty $19.99 140 77% 4.2k $84k (exactly $83,958) Mosaic Mask Studio
Atre: Dominance Wars · EA $24.99 34 67% 1.0k $25k (exactly $25,490) Ironward
Game With Balls $5.99 64 95% 1.9k $12k (exactly $11,501) Geert Verhoeff
K2: Digital Edition $14.99 20 85% 600 $9.0k (exactly $8,994) Devon Games
Build For Sale Simulator · EA $8.99 32 46% 960 $8.6k (exactly $8,630) Paragon Game Studio

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