Games › Tactical › Tactical + Noir
Should I ship a Noir Tactical game?
Tactical + Noir
Only 16 developers shipped a Noir Tactical game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Psycho Patrol R, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 28 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.2k, ×6.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $2.5M, ×3993 the market median. Revenue is up 65% on the market; 28 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) |
| Top 25% | $55k (exactly $54,845) |
| Top 5% | $2.5M (exactly $2,507,373) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 47 |
| Announced | 28 |
| 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 65% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, 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
- Tactical; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Stealth, Action, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Dark, Top-Down
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 4,888 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Tactical with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Football (American)Strong odds
- + Mystery DungeonStrong odds
- + Dating SimFair
- + 6DOFFair
- + Word GameFair
- + TypingFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Dynamic NarrationFair
- + Farming SimFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
Comparable games
Empire of Sin 2020 · $5.5M 
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified 2013 · $2.9M 
Psycho Patrol R 2025 · EA · $2.5M 
This Is the Police 2 2018 · $2.4M 
Intravenous 2021 · $1.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Empire of Sin | older | $39.99 | 4,544 49% | 136k | $5.5M (exactly $5,451,437) | Romero Games |
| | The Bureau: XCOM Declassified | older | $19.99 | 4,857 67% | 146k | $2.9M (exactly $2,912,743) | 2K Marin |
| | Psycho Patrol R | · EA | $39.99 | 2,090 88% | 63k | $2.5M (exactly $2,507,373) | Consumer Softproducts |
| | This Is the Police 2 | older | $14.99 | 5,330 77% | 160k | $2.4M (exactly $2,396,901) | Weappy Studio |
| | Intravenous | older | $19.99 | 2,872 91% | 86k | $1.7M (exactly $1,722,338) | Explosive Squat Games |
 | The Lamplighters League | older | $49.99 | 726 71% | 22k | $1.1M (exactly $1,088,782) | Harebrained Schemes |
 | DEATH NOTE Killer Within | $9.99 | 2,324 84% | 70k | $697k (exactly $696,503) | Grounding Inc. | |
 | Serial Cleaners | older | $24.99 | 357 76% | 11k | $268k (exactly $267,643) | Draw Distance |
 | PROHIBEAST | $34.99 | 121 57% | 3.6k | $127k (exactly $127,014) | SUPER AC | |
 | Vigilantes | older | $14.99 | 276 80% | 8.3k | $124k (exactly $124,117) | Timeslip Softworks |
 | Cyberpunk SFX | $9.99 | 183 83% | 5.5k | $55k (exactly $54,845) | Whale Rock Games | |
 | Ambitious Road | $17.99 | 26 88% | 780 | $14k (exactly $14,032) | 黒木道仁 | |
 | DEN PAIN | $2.04 | 110 88% | 3.3k | $6.7k (exactly $6,732) | TXC | |
 | Downward Spear | · EA | $14.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $4.5k (exactly $4,497) | imakegame software |
 | False Alarm | $9.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) | Scattered Discs | |
 | Bomb Squad | $14.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | International Headquarters | |
 | Sipssassin | $9.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | Simmering Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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