Do I ship it?

Games › PvE › PvE + Tanks

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Tank game?

PvE + Tanks

Of 35 developers who shipped a PvE Tank 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.. 67 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 $600, level with the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×281 the market median. Revenue is up 180% on the market; 67 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 180% on the market, 67 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvE + Tanks
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.2k → $449 → $449 → $359 → $599 → $1.5k → $748 (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvE + Tanks: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $2.6k (exactly $2,633)
Top 5% $176k (exactly $176,356)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 97
Announced 67
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 180% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
Tanks
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
PvE, Tanks; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Wargame, Combat, Strategy
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person
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 72% positive over 2,468 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $600, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $170k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 67 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

PvE with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  2. + IdlerFair161 devs · median $1.0k · 229 announced
  3. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  4. + TypingFair23 devs · median $719 · 27 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds44 devs · median $163k · 97 announced
  6. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds50 devs · median $85k · 120 announced
  7. + HeistPoor odds18 devs · median $30k · 50 announced
  8. + MMORPGPoor odds34 devs · median $25k · 248 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds10 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  10. + NavalPoor odds21 devs · median $11k · 59 announced
  11. + SpaceshipsPoor odds16 devs · median $6.3k · 20 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds10 devs · median $6.3k · 13 announced

All 243 pairs on the PvE page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sprocket 2021 · EA · $7.4M The Great War: Western Front™ 2023 · $2.9M Regiments 2022 · $2.5M Call to Arms: Panzer Elite 2025 · EA · $1.7M The Troop 2023 · $979k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sprocket · EA older $19.99 12,336 92% 370k $7.4M (exactly $7,397,899) Hamish Dunn
The Great War: Western Front™ older $34.99 2,733 66% 82k $2.9M (exactly $2,868,830) Petroglyph
Regiments older $29.99 2,822 87% 85k $2.5M (exactly $2,538,953) Bird's Eye Games
Call to Arms: Panzer Elite · EA $29.99 1,927 69% 58k $1.7M (exactly $1,733,722) Digitalmindsoft
The Troop older $39.99 816 83% 24k $979k (exactly $978,955) Giant Flame
CUSTOM MECH WARS older $49.99 563 41% 17k $844k (exactly $844,331) D3PUBLISHER
Hex of Steel older $24.99 863 95% 26k $647k (exactly $646,991) War Frogs Studio
S.W.I.N.E. HD Remaster older $9.99 1,017 93% 31k $305k (exactly $304,795) Kite Games
DAISENRYAKU PERFECT 4.0 older $59.99 117 35% 3.5k $211k (exactly $210,565) Systemsoft beta, Inc.
Out of Ammo older $9.99 699 84% 21k $209k (exactly $209,490) RocketWerkz
Armored Brigade II $39.99 147 87% 4.4k $176k (exactly $176,356) Veitikka Studios
D.O.T. Defence $14.99 196 85% 5.9k $88k (exactly $88,141) Rattleaxe Games
Earth vs Mars $14.99 74 85% 2.2k $33k (exactly $33,278) Relic Entertainment
Battlefield Commander WWII · EA $19.99 54 70% 1.6k $32k (exactly $32,384) Sword of Steel
Pact of Steel $14.99 12 83% 360 $5.4k (exactly $5,396) Steel Potato Games LLC
Valor 1944 $9.99 14 92% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Sunroom Games
Bridge Hunter · EA $9.99 12 100% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Double Light
TONK · EA $3.99 22 77% 660 $2.6k (exactly $2,633) YourAverageOtter
Fight For America $4.99 10 100% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Homa Games

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