Do I ship it?

GamesReal Time TacticsReal Time Tactics + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up Real Time Tactics?

Real Time Tactics + Shoot 'Em Up

Only 17 developers shipped a Shoot 'Em Up Real Time Tactics in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Badlands Crew - Drive, Command, Conquer, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 29 more are announced, ×5.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $640k, ×1021 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 29 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 29 announced, ×5.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Real Time Tactics + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $299 → $599 → $419 → $1.4k
Outcomes for Real Time Tactics + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,040)
Top 25% $4.5k (exactly $4,491)
Top 5% $641k (exactly $641,482)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 75
Announced 29
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 65% on the market, supply 60% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Shoot 'Em Up
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, Shoot 'Em Up; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, RPG
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 1,965 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $4.4k, 1 in 20 over $640k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.8 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Badlands Crew - Drive, Command, Conquer $18.99 1,126 78% 34k $641k (exactly $641,482) Runner Duck
Darwinia older $11.99 781 78% 23k $281k (exactly $280,926) Introversion Software
Castle Of Alchemists $14.99 618 80% 19k $278k (exactly $277,915) Team Machiavelli
Swordship older $19.99 209 85% 6.3k $125k (exactly $125,337) Digital Kingdom
Touhou Spell Carnival $49.99 49 77% 1.5k $73k (exactly $73,485) Idea Factory, Compile Heart, STING
Gray Zone older $19.99 52 61% 1.6k $31k (exactly $31,184) EastWorks
RESEARCH and DESTROY older $19.99 45 95% 1.4k $27k (exactly $26,986) Implausible Industries
Bees vs Zombees $7.99 89 92% 2.7k $21k (exactly $21,333) DeadPixel
Sierra Ops - Space Strategy Visual Novel older $14.99 42 80% 1.3k $19k (exactly $18,887) Innomen Team
Sky of Destruction older $12.99 38 52% 1.1k $15k (exactly $14,809) Satur Entertainment
Asteroid Odyssey $4.99 30 36% 900 $4.5k (exactly $4,491) LampDog Studio
Doomsday Tower Defense $15.99 3 33% 90 $1.4k (exactly $1,439) Urban Isotope
Xeno Rangers $11.99 4 100% 120 $1.4k (exactly $1,439) 9000 Legends
Enemy Engaged: Apache vs Havoc $5.99 6 50% 180 $1.1k (exactly $1,078) Razorworks
MEMOLOGY: ESCAPE OF MEMES $0.99 35 91% 1.1k $1.0k (exactly $1,040) Gamesforfarm, Piece Of Voxel
Miryam: The Polluted Land $4.99 5 100% 150 $748 (exactly $748) 6.5F Studio

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