Should I ship a Tanks RPG?
RPG + Tanks
Only 13 developers shipped a Tanks RPG 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 Front, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 8 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $14k, ×23 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $75; 1 in 20 cleared $5.7M, ×9124 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 8 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $75 (exactly $75) |
|---|---|
| Median | $14k (exactly $14,442) |
| Top 25% | $264k (exactly $263,934) |
| Top 5% | $5.7M (exactly $5,730,134) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 64 |
| Announced | 8 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $16.99 |
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 85% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- RPG, Tanks; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, JRPG, Management
- Price point
- $16.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $16.99.
The top 10 games average 68% positive over 11,880 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $75. 5 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 8 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + IdlerFair
- + Boss RushFair
- + SportsFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
- + MinigamesPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Valkyria Chronicles 4 Complete Edition | older | $49.99 | 5,691 86% | 171k | $8.5M (exactly $8,534,793) | SEGA |
| | Valkyria Chronicles™ | older | $19.99 | 10,832 89% | 325k | $6.5M (exactly $6,495,950) | SEGA |
| | The Front | $19.99 | 9,555 66% | 287k | $5.7M (exactly $5,730,134) | Samar Studio | |
| | SAND LAND | older | $59.99 | 1,018 86% | 31k | $1.8M (exactly $1,832,095) | ILCA, Inc. |
| | Fuga: Melodies of Steel | older | $39.99 | 1,181 93% | 35k | $1.4M (exactly $1,416,846) | CyberConnect2 |
| | Metal Slug Tactics | $24.99 | 1,152 76% | 35k | $864k (exactly $863,654) | Leikir Studio | |
| | FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake | older | $34.99 | 745 77% | 22k | $782k (exactly $782,026) | Forever Entertainment S. A. |
| | METAL MAX Xeno Reborn | older | $39.99 | 444 65% | 13k | $533k (exactly $532,667) | 24Frame,inc. |
| | FRONT MISSION 3: Remake | $34.99 | 453 74% | 14k | $476k (exactly $475,514) | MegaPixel Studio S.A. | |
| | Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 | older | $39.99 | 360 96% | 11k | $432k (exactly $431,892) | CyberConnect2 |
| | Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3 | $39.99 | 220 89% | 6.6k | $264k (exactly $263,934) | CyberConnect2 | |
| | Tankenstein | · EA | $17.99 | 238 89% | 7.1k | $128k (exactly $128,449) | Landship Games LTD |
| | Neuroshima Hex | $9.99 | 93 72% | 2.8k | $28k (exactly $27,872) | Baked Games | |
| | My Waifu Is A Tank Girl! 💕 | $2.99 | 161 80% | 4.8k | $14k (exactly $14,442) | Neko Cloud | |
| | Oath of Steel | $18.99 | 4 0% | 120 | $2.3k (exactly $2,279) | Ling Jun | |
| | BERSERK TANK | $4.50 | 3 66% | 90 | $405 (exactly $405) | WU YU CHENG | |
| | Hostile Paths | $2.49 | 1 100% | 30 | $75 (exactly $75) | Alberto Lanata |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.