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Should I ship a PvE Tactical RPG?
PvE + Tactical RPG
Of 137 developers who shipped a PvE 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.. 312 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×309 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 312 games are announced against 77 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $6.0k (exactly $5,992) |
| Top 5% | $194k (exactly $194,303) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 137 |
| Released games | 319 |
| Announced | 312 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 down 30% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 23%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- PvE
- effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
- Tactical RPG
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- PvE, Tactical RPG; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 23,495 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 75 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 312 games are announced against 77 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + TypingFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + HeistPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + SpaceshipsPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
Comparable games
Battle Brothers 2017 · $23M 
Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters 2022 · $15M 
MENACE 2026 · EA · $15M 
King Arthur: Knight's Tale 2022 · $9.1M 
Phoenix Point 2020 · $4.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Battle Brothers | older | $29.99 | 26,118 87% | 784k | $23M (exactly $23,498,365) | Overhype Studios |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters | older | $44.99 | 11,426 76% | 343k | $15M (exactly $15,421,672) | Complex Games |
| | MENACE | · EA | $39.99 | 12,281 90% | 368k | $15M (exactly $14,733,516) | Overhype Studios |
| | King Arthur: Knight's Tale | older | $44.99 | 6,722 83% | 202k | $9.1M (exactly $9,072,683) | NeocoreGames |
| | Phoenix Point | older | $24.99 | 5,375 73% | 161k | $4.0M (exactly $4,029,637) | Snapshot Games Inc. |
 | Inkbound | older | $29.99 | 3,592 86% | 108k | $3.2M (exactly $3,231,722) | Shiny Shoe |
 | Sunderfolk | $49.99 | 1,890 93% | 57k | $2.8M (exactly $2,834,433) | Secret Door | |
 | Cyber Knights: Flashpoint | $29.99 | 2,926 93% | 88k | $2.6M (exactly $2,632,522) | Trese Brothers | |
 | Cobalt Core | older | $19.99 | 4,067 95% | 122k | $2.4M (exactly $2,438,980) | Rocket Rat Games |
 | The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak | older | $59.99 | 1,172 91% | 35k | $2.1M (exactly $2,109,248) | Nihon Falcom, PH3 GmbH |
 | PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY | $29.99 | 2,091 83% | 63k | $1.9M (exactly $1,881,273) | SAS CO.,LTD. | |
 | Dwarven Realms | $9.99 | 2,850 81% | 86k | $854k (exactly $854,145) | Crater Studios | |
 | Terrinoth®: Heroes of Descent | $34.99 | 441 75% | 13k | $463k (exactly $462,918) | Artefacts Studio, Shine Group | |
 | Ascend From Nine Mountains | · EA | $19.99 | 324 92% | 9.7k | $194k (exactly $194,303) | Nine Ascension Studios |
 | Hive Blight | · EA | $12.49 | 367 94% | 11k | $138k (exactly $137,515) | OptizOnion |
 | STRANGER SAGA -Stranger Bach and Iskiyeld's Ambition- | $9.89 | 225 86% | 6.8k | $67k (exactly $66,758) | Retro Game Balance & Mechanics -レトロ… (Retro Game Balance & Mechanics -レトロゲームの手応えとバランスを追求するデザイン工房-) | |
 | Silent North | · EA | $19.99 | 100 29% | 3.0k | $60k (exactly $59,970) | Combat Waffle Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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