Should I ship a Tanks RTS?
RTS + Tanks
Of 23 developers who shipped a Tanks RTS 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.. 50 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $960k, ×642 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 50 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,468) |
| Top 25% | $88k (exactly $88,141) |
| Top 5% | $961k (exactly $961,308) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 100 |
| Announced | 50 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 down 20% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- RTS, Tanks; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Real Time Tactics, Strategy, Wargame
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 57% positive over 27,926 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RTS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Outbreak SimFair
- + HorrorFair
- + NavalFair
- + TabletopFair
- + SportsLong shot
- + PuzzleLong shot
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Company of Heroes 2 | older | $19.99 | 68,909 80% | 2.1M | $41M (exactly $41,324,727) | Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive… (Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)) |
| | Broken Arrow | $49.99 | 25,924 55% | 778k | $39M (exactly $38,878,223) | Steel Balalaika | |
| | Men of War: Assault Squad 2 | older | $29.99 | 35,744 91% | 1.1M | $32M (exactly $32,158,877) | Digitalmindsoft |
| | Command & Conquer™ Remastered Collection | older | $19.99 | 31,503 90% | 945k | $19M (exactly $18,892,349) | Petroglyph, Lemon Sky Studios |
| | WARNO | older | $39.99 | 14,502 80% | 435k | $17M (exactly $17,398,049) | Eugen Systems |
| | Men of War II | older | $44.99 | 5,614 60% | 168k | $7.6M (exactly $7,577,216) | Best Way |
| | Company of Heroes - Legacy Edition | older | $36.99 | 4,831 92% | 145k | $5.4M (exactly $5,360,961) | Relic Entertainment |
| | Airships: Conquer the Skies | older | $24.99 | 6,197 95% | 186k | $4.6M (exactly $4,645,891) | David Stark |
| | Sudden Strike 4 | older | $19.99 | 6,249 78% | 187k | $3.7M (exactly $3,747,525) | Kite Games |
| | The Great War: Western Front™ | older | $34.99 | 2,733 66% | 82k | $2.9M (exactly $2,868,830) | Petroglyph |
| | Sudden Strike 5 | $49.99 | 641 75% | 19k | $961k (exactly $961,308) | Kite Games | |
| | Trench Lord: Eastern Front | $11.99 | 774 83% | 23k | $278k (exactly $278,408) | Tracer Studio, LING YUN CO.,LTD. | |
| | Armored Brigade II | $39.99 | 147 87% | 4.4k | $176k (exactly $176,356) | Veitikka Studios | |
| | Sherman Commander | $29.99 | 117 64% | 3.5k | $105k (exactly $105,265) | Iron Wolf Studio S.A. | |
| | D.O.T. Defence | $14.99 | 196 85% | 5.9k | $88k (exactly $88,141) | Rattleaxe Games | |
| | Battlefield Commander WWII | · EA | $19.99 | 54 70% | 1.6k | $32k (exactly $32,384) | Sword of Steel |
| | Tactical Warfare | $9.99 | 52 67% | 1.6k | $16k (exactly $15,584) | Mizrab | |
| | Rage Of Towers | $14.99 | 9 77% | 270 | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) | Tiger Among Shadows | |
| | Tactics of World War I | $8.99 | 12 58% | 360 | $3.2k (exactly $3,236) | Headless Horseman Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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