Do I ship it?

GamesReal Time TacticsReal Time Tactics + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Real Time Tactics?

Real Time Tactics + Zombies

Of 30 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 60 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 $590, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60; 1 in 20 cleared $21k, ×34 the market median. Revenue is up 175% on the market; 60 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 175% on the market, 60 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Real Time Tactics + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $180 → $600 → $1.7k → $1.3k → $1.8k → $360 → $594 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Real Time Tactics + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $594 (exactly $594)
Top 25% $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Top 5% $21k (exactly $21,333)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 107
Announced 60
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 175% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Zombies
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
Real Time Tactics; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Tower Defense, RTS
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 601 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $590, 1 in 4 over $1.7k, 1 in 20 over $21k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. All of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 15 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 setting or mood, 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
Cepheus Protocol · EA older $19.99 2,983 76% 89k $1.8M (exactly $1,788,905) Halcyon Winds
Red Solstice 2: Survivors older $14.99 2,585 70% 78k $1.2M (exactly $1,162,474) Ironward
Atom Zombie Smasher older $9.99 1,109 89% 33k $332k (exactly $332,367) Blendo Games
The Red Solstice older $9.99 883 72% 26k $265k (exactly $264,635) Ironward
Breach & Clear: Deadline Rebirth (2016) older $9.99 715 53% 21k $214k (exactly $214,286) Mighty Rabbit Studios, Gun Media
Chromosome Evil older $14.99 334 81% 10k $150k (exactly $150,200) S.C. 16 BIT NIGHTS S.R.L.
Flesh Eaters older $4.99 862 73% 26k $129k (exactly $129,041) S.C. 16 BIT NIGHTS S.R.L.
After Long Night $9.99 381 72% 11k $114k (exactly $114,186) 疯狗工作室
Kingdom Wars 2: Definitive Edition older $9.99 348 66% 10k $104k (exactly $104,296) Reverie World Studios
Strain Tactics older $14.99 214 87% 6.4k $96k (exactly $96,236) Touch Dimensions Interactive
Bees vs Zombees $7.99 89 92% 2.7k $21k (exactly $21,333) DeadPixel
Only Out $4.99 40 95% 1.2k $6.0k (exactly $5,988) Shark Studio
Crypt Crawler $7.99 15 100% 450 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Wild Domain
Hold The Line · EA $9.99 10 90% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) The Big Studio
Notice Me Leena-senpai! $7.99 11 81% 330 $2.6k (exactly $2,637) Yanako RPGs, GameDevTosh
Supreme Ruler Global Outbreak $19.99 3 66% 90 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) BattleGoat Studios
Sandbox Apocalypse · EA $11.99 5 80% 150 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) 7Druids GmbH
Flesh Psychosis $2.28 26 96% 780 $1.8k (exactly $1,778) Milkshake Games
Outbreak Overlord $1.99 21 90% 630 $1.3k (exactly $1,254) Minicactus Games

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