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Should I ship an Online Co-Op Tactical RPG?
Online Co-Op + Tactical RPG
Of 31 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op 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.. 74 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $1.1M, ×742 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 74 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) |
| Top 25% | $62k (exactly $62,012) |
| Top 5% | $1.1M (exactly $1,111,130) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 31 |
| Released games | 97 |
| Announced | 74 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 down 85% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 38%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Online Co-Op
- effort 8 / 10 · low · netcode, lobbies and state sync across machines
- Tactical RPG
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op, Tactical RPG; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Strategy RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Isometric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 6,846 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 7 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Online Co-Op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Bullet HeavenStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + TypingFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Wartales 2023 · $34M 
Wasteland 3 2020 · $21M 
Jagged Alliance 3 2023 · $15M 
Gloomhaven 2021 · $14M 
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition 2013 · $9.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Wartales | older | $34.99 | 32,118 86% | 964k | $34M (exactly $33,714,265) | Shiro Games |
| | Wasteland 3 | older | $39.99 | 17,263 84% | 518k | $21M (exactly $20,710,421) | inXile Entertainment |
| | Jagged Alliance 3 | older | $44.99 | 10,882 89% | 326k | $15M (exactly $14,687,435) | Haemimont Games |
| | Gloomhaven | older | $34.99 | 13,628 82% | 409k | $14M (exactly $14,305,312) | Flaming Fowl Studios, Saber Interactive |
| | Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition | older | $19.99 | 15,395 92% | 462k | $9.2M (exactly $9,232,382) | Beamdog |
 | Across the Obelisk | older | $19.99 | 10,689 80% | 321k | $6.4M (exactly $6,410,193) | Dreamsite Games |
 | Solasta II | · EA | $39.99 | 2,931 75% | 88k | $3.5M (exactly $3,516,321) | Tactical Adventures |
 | Wargroove | older | $19.99 | 4,015 83% | 120k | $2.4M (exactly $2,407,796) | Chucklefish |
 | Stolen Realm | older | $19.99 | 3,470 84% | 104k | $2.1M (exactly $2,080,959) | Burst2Flame Games |
 | Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies | older | $7.99 | 7,792 91% | 234k | $1.9M (exactly $1,867,742) | Striped Panda Studios |
 | Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked | $29.99 | 1,235 82% | 37k | $1.1M (exactly $1,111,130) | Resolution Games | |
 | Frosthaven | · EA | $39.99 | 814 72% | 24k | $977k (exactly $976,556) | Snapshot Games Inc. |
 | Terrinoth®: Heroes of Descent | $34.99 | 441 75% | 13k | $463k (exactly $462,918) | Artefacts Studio, Shine Group | |
 | Vivid World | $19.99 | 591 88% | 18k | $354k (exactly $354,423) | Asobism.Co.,Ltd | |
 | Thrive: Heavy Lies The Crown | $27.99 | 374 54% | 11k | $314k (exactly $314,048) | Zugalu Entertainment | |
 | Forsworn | $15.99 | 187 90% | 5.6k | $90k (exactly $89,704) | Resummon Studios LLC | |
 | Dustgrave: A Sandbox RPG | · EA | $21.99 | 94 71% | 2.8k | $62k (exactly $62,012) | Innervoid Interactive |
 | Athena Crisis | $9.99 | 127 77% | 3.8k | $38k (exactly $38,062) | Nakazawa Tech | |
 | diffiCULT | · EA | $4.99 | 52 94% | 1.6k | $7.8k (exactly $7,784) | Ouz Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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