Do I ship it?

GamesTacticalTactical + Runner

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Runner Tactical game?

Tactical + Runner

Only 17 developers shipped a Runner 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, Relooted, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 15 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $120 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 11 developers shipped in the last year and 15 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 345% on the market, 15 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tactical + Runner
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $16k → $386 → $30 → $11k → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tactical + Runner: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $120 (exactly $120)
Top 25% $570 (exactly $570)
Top 5% $116k (exactly $115,573)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 70
Announced 15
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 345% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Runner
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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, Runner; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Arcade
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Stylized
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 596 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $120, 1 in 4 over $570, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 15 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Tactical with a different second tag, 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
Espire 1: VR Operative older $19.99 381 54% 11k $228k (exactly $228,486) Digital Lode Immersive Media
Relooted $14.99 257 87% 7.7k $116k (exactly $115,573) Nyamakop
Decimate Drive older $7.99 321 91% 9.6k $77k (exactly $76,944) Some Random Designing
Rabbit Riot older $39.99 49 87% 1.5k $59k (exactly $58,785) Reactor Studios
Parkour Tag older $7.99 170 87% 5.1k $41k (exactly $40,749) Loopnova Studio
Sushi Cat Legacy Collection $4.99 263 95% 7.9k $39k (exactly $39,371) Armor Games Studios
Only Up! older $4.99 198 11% 5.9k $30k (exactly $29,641) MoreMoto Games
Car Drive older $44.99 14 64% 420 $19k (exactly $18,896) kovalevviktor
Zombodesert older $49.99 12 91% 360 $18k (exactly $17,996) Gamesforgames
Adventures with Alan Parkour 3D older $39.99 13 92% 390 $16k (exactly $15,596) Gamesforgames
SPEEDSHOT $14.99 27 100% 810 $12k (exactly $12,142) karmacode
DRAFTYCAR 2 · EA $14.99 24 95% 720 $11k (exactly $10,793) Speedway Labs
eggboy · EA $18.99 1 0% 30 $570 (exactly $570) sadboy
Hijack Jump $1.79 9 100% 270 $483 (exactly $483) fiftyfive development OHG
Run, Poo, Run! $0.99 11 100% 330 $327 (exactly $327) Reanim Games
Dead Bit $4.99 2 50% 60 $299 (exactly $299) escape2echo
Square Escape Challenge $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) AGS GAMES
SlimeIsland $1.99 1 100% 30 $60 (exactly $60) ZHOU YANG

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