Do I ship it?

GamesTacticalTactical + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological Tactical game?

Tactical + Psychological

Of 24 developers who shipped a Psychological 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.. 35 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $690k, ×1109 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 35 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 35 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tactical + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $538 → $539 → $539 → $1.0k (still earning) → $269 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tactical + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $539 (exactly $539)
Top 25% $1.9k (exactly $1,946)
Top 5% $697k (exactly $696,503)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 54
Announced 35
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 60% on the market, supply 10% 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.

Tactical
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Psychological
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; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Survival, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 3,907 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 $540, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $690k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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
Death Howl $19.99 1,301 92% 39k $780k (exactly $780,210) The Outer Zone
DEATH NOTE Killer Within $9.99 2,324 84% 70k $697k (exactly $696,503) Grounding Inc.
The Stone of Madness $29.99 199 77% 6.0k $179k (exactly $179,040) The Game Kitchen
Chromosome Evil older $14.99 334 81% 10k $150k (exactly $150,200) S.C. 16 BIT NIGHTS S.R.L.
SOLAS 128 older $14.99 183 95% 5.5k $82k (exactly $82,295) Amicable Animal
OBEY older $7.99 259 82% 7.8k $62k (exactly $62,082) Dez
Dragon Spirits 2 older $13.99 137 84% 4.1k $57k (exactly $57,499) FHNBHJ
Grey Skies: A War of the Worlds Story older $11.99 154 35% 4.6k $55k (exactly $55,394) Steel Arts Software
Misery Mansion older $17.99 87 72% 2.6k $47k (exactly $46,954) Manic Mice
Agarta older $2.99 498 71% 15k $45k (exactly $44,671) FF Digital
OCTOPinbs $9.99 45 68% 1.4k $13k (exactly $13,486) tri-Ace, Lasengle Inc.
Revolver Gambit · EA $9.99 8 100% 240 $2.4k (exactly $2,398) Welch Antony
Fortune Paradox $4.99 13 84% 390 $1.9k (exactly $1,946) StoneBreaker Studios
Bomb Squad $14.99 4 100% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) International Headquarters
Frontline Footage · EA $4.99 11 54% 330 $1.6k (exactly $1,647) D4rkSt0rm Studios
TET~CRAFT: The Fourth Temple $33.33 1 100% 30 $1.0k (exactly $1,000) ceneezer
FULL BET - FIGHTING CASINO - $19.99 1 100% 30 $600 (exactly $600) FlatMountain

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