Do I ship it?

Games › Real Time Tactics › Real Time Tactics + Perma Death

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Perma Death Real Time Tactics?

Real Time Tactics + Perma Death

Of 26 developers who shipped a Perma Death 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.. 66 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×250 the market median. Revenue is up 2585% on the market; 66 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 2585% on the market, 66 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Real Time Tactics + Perma Death
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $23k → $449 → $119 → $450 → $419 → $8.9k (still earning) → $4.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Real Time Tactics + Perma Death: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,348)
Top 25% $9.4k (exactly $9,444)
Top 5% $157k (exactly $156,999)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 71
Announced 66
Effort 6 / 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 up 2585% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Real Time Tactics
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Perma Death
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
Real Time Tactics, Perma Death; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Simulation, Action
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 17,254 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $9.4k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. All of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Real Time Tactics with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + DragonsStrong odds17 devs · median $6.6k · 19 announced
  2. + Outbreak SimFair12 devs · median $1.8k · 14 announced
  3. + HackingFair11 devs · median $987 · 11 announced
  4. + World War IIPoor odds24 devs · median $67k · 35 announced
  5. + Cold WarPoor odds9 devs · median $19k · 16 announced
  6. + HistoricalPoor odds88 devs · median $19k · 154 announced
  7. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds19 devs · median $16k · 31 announced
  8. + Real-TimePoor odds16 devs · median $16k · 26 announced
  9. + MechsPoor odds16 devs · median $13k · 32 announced
  10. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds20 devs · median $9.6k · 50 announced
  11. + God GamePoor odds19 devs · median $7.8k · 32 announced
  12. + Open WorldPoor odds29 devs · median $7.2k · 111 announced

All 176 pairs on the Real Time Tactics page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

LOCKDOWN Protocol 2025 · $5.0M Blackthorn Arena 2020 · $2.6M Crying Suns 2019 · $2.4M Abandon Ship 2019 · $863k Okhlos: Omega 2016 · $247k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
LOCKDOWN Protocol $9.99 16,605 86% 498k $5.0M (exactly $4,976,518) Mirage Creative Lab
Blackthorn Arena older $24.99 3,477 69% 104k $2.6M (exactly $2,606,707) PersonaeGame Studio
Crying Suns older $24.99 3,149 85% 94k $2.4M (exactly $2,360,805) Alt Shift
Abandon Ship older $24.99 1,151 71% 35k $863k (exactly $862,905) Fireblade Software
Okhlos: Omega older $12.99 633 78% 19k $247k (exactly $246,680) Coffee Powered Machine
Xenopurge $12.49 419 84% 13k $157k (exactly $156,999) Traptics
Chromosome Evil older $14.99 334 81% 10k $150k (exactly $150,200) S.C. 16 BIT NIGHTS S.R.L.
Rogue Station older $9.99 225 77% 6.8k $67k (exactly $67,432) Quint Studio
XO · EA older $19.99 82 87% 2.5k $49k (exactly $49,175) Jumpdrive Studios
BURNED HORIZONS · EA $44.99 29 34% 870 $39k (exactly $39,141) BURNED HORIZONS STUDIO
Reclaim The Sea $11.99 41 75% 1.2k $15k (exactly $14,748) 1LastGame
Status One $14.99 30 73% 900 $13k (exactly $13,491) LastCall Studio
C.A.R.S. - Creating A Ridiculous Shitshow $7.99 40 97% 1.2k $9.6k (exactly $9,588) 3Dads Studios
Millennium Strategy $14.99 21 85% 630 $9.4k (exactly $9,444) MiMo Games
One King Is Enough $10.99 27 77% 810 $8.9k (exactly $8,902) INVISIBLE GAMES
Tribe Nation $9.99 24 79% 720 $7.2k (exactly $7,193) Random Worlds s.r.o.
VELATO · EA $8.99 18 100% 540 $4.9k (exactly $4,855) VELATO

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