Do I ship it?

GamesReal Time TacticsReal Time Tactics + Turn-Based Combat

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Turn-Based Combat Real Time Tactics?

Real Time Tactics + Turn-Based Combat

Of 27 developers who shipped a Turn-Based Combat 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.. 52 more are announced, ×4.0 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 $300; 1 in 20 cleared $50k, ×80 the market median. Revenue is up 1655% on the market; 52 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 1655% on the market, 52 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Real Time Tactics + Turn-Based Combat
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5M → $3.5k → $2.4k → $359 → $6.1k → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Real Time Tactics + Turn-Based Combat: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,349)
Top 25% $7.6k (exactly $7,625)
Top 5% $50k (exactly $50,000)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 103
Announced 52
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 1655% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 26%, 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
Turn-Based Combat
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Real Time Tactics, Turn-Based Combat; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics, Simulation
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $44.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $44.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 663 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 $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $7.6k, 1 in 20 over $50k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. All of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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
Total War: ROME REMASTERED older $29.99 12,627 77% 379k $11M (exactly $11,360,512) Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive
Phantom Brigade older $29.99 4,412 81% 132k $4.0M (exactly $3,969,476) Brace Yourself Games
Blackthorn Arena older $24.99 3,477 69% 104k $2.6M (exactly $2,606,707) PersonaeGame Studio
Showgunners older $29.99 1,642 93% 49k $1.5M (exactly $1,477,307) Artificer
Hadean Tactics older $19.99 1,725 89% 52k $1.0M (exactly $1,034,482) Emberfish Games
Three Kingdoms The Last Warlord older $3.99 3,611 68% 108k $432k (exactly $432,237) LongYou Game Studio
No Plan B older $14.99 761 86% 23k $342k (exactly $342,222) GFX47
Shardpunk older $13.99 739 92% 22k $310k (exactly $310,158) Clockwork Pile
I am not a Monster: First Contact older $10.99 492 78% 15k $162k (exactly $162,212) Cheerdealers
Dust Fleet older $19.99 193 76% 5.8k $116k (exactly $115,742) Orbiting Disco
Global Protocol: New World Order · EA $19.99 85 71% 2.6k $51k (exactly $50,974) Dorlion Interactive
Tap Dungeon $4.99 334 81% 10k $50k (exactly $50,000) Xiao5 Studios
BURNED HORIZONS · EA $44.99 29 34% 870 $39k (exactly $39,141) BURNED HORIZONS STUDIO
Fritz Chess 20 Steam Edition $54.99 15 46% 450 $25k (exactly $24,746) ChessBase GmbH
UltraGirl Alters $19.99 37 64% 1.1k $22k (exactly $22,189) FutureInvention
Beyond the Grove · EA $14.99 18 77% 540 $8.1k (exactly $8,095) Not a Duck
Countryballs at War $2.99 85 94% 2.6k $7.6k (exactly $7,625) SHN Games
Fadedlands: The Reckless Squad $5.99 34 97% 1.0k $6.1k (exactly $6,110) ForindGames
Ballardo: Roguelike Billiards · EA $8.99 13 53% 390 $3.5k (exactly $3,506) Nue Games
League Of Tacticians: Path of Tarkan $5.99 13 84% 390 $2.3k (exactly $2,336) Oba Games

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