Do I ship it?

GamesTacticalTactical + Romance

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Romance Tactical game?

Tactical + Romance

Only 11 developers shipped a Romance Tactical game 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, The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily, 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, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×2191 the market median. Revenue is up 2145% on the market; 29 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 2145% on the market, 29 announced, ×4.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tactical + Romance
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.7k → $539 → $6.7k → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tactical + Romance: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,242)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,389)
Top 5% $1.4M (exactly $1,375,641)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 47
Announced 29
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 2145% on the market, supply 20% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Tactical
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Romance
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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
Tactical
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 2,220 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Tactical with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Football (American)Strong odds12 devs · median $5.8k · 8 announced
  2. + Mystery DungeonStrong odds20 devs · median $2.5k · 15 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair13 devs · median $11k · 9 announced
  4. + 6DOFFair14 devs · median $2.4k · 19 announced
  5. + Word GameFair23 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 9 announced
  7. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $1.0k · 10 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair38 devs · median $987 · 57 announced
  9. + Dynamic NarrationFair13 devs · median $899 · 16 announced
  10. + Farming SimFair12 devs · median $897 · 10 announced
  11. + SolitaireFair25 devs · median $479 · 22 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Fair20 devs · median $479 · 21 announced

All 226 pairs on the Tactical page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition older $49.99 34,157 83% 1.0M $51M (exactly $51,225,253) Owlcat Games
Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition older $29.99 28,721 85% 862k $26M (exactly $25,840,284) BioWare
Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga older $19.99 12,880 94% 386k $7.7M (exactly $7,724,136) Dancing Dragon Games
Valkyria Chronicles™ older $19.99 10,832 89% 325k $6.5M (exactly $6,495,950) SEGA
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky older $19.99 8,801 94% 264k $5.3M (exactly $5,277,960) Nihon Falcom
小白兔电商~Bunny e-Shop older $10.99 9,176 93% 275k $3.0M (exactly $3,025,327) 落叶岛项目组, 橘子班
Wars and Roses older $19.99 2,435 42% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,460,270) Blaze Worlds
The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily $29.99 1,529 85% 46k $1.4M (exactly $1,375,641) Alliance Arts, One or Eight, WSS Playgr… (Alliance Arts, One or Eight, WSS Playground)
Agarest: Generations of War older $14.99 1,668 70% 50k $750k (exactly $750,100) Idea Factory
Ledgerbound $29.99 562 92% 17k $506k (exactly $505,631) OmniMegaSuperCorp
Simp: Leveling Up on a Dating App $9.99 38 65% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) MONSTIVE
Under the Disco Lights - 80's Bar Simulator $9.99 34 85% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) Efsus Games
Yatzi 2 $14.99 15 80% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) Korion Interactive
ORPHEUS: TO HELL AND BACK $2.99 25 68% 750 $2.2k (exactly $2,242) StudioLoading, Kibou Entertainment, Alu… (StudioLoading, Kibou Entertainment, Alunite,Inc.)
Soul Stake $3.99 11 90% 330 $1.3k (exactly $1,317) Tap-Tap Legends
Another World Adventures $5.99 3 33% 90 $539 (exactly $539) S Xavier Uy
Prismatic: Nox's Gate $4.95 2 100% 60 $297 (exactly $297) Pyrano Studios
Mast Up! Seas of Desire $1.99 1 0% 30 $60 (exactly $60) Kopon Games

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