Do I ship it?

GamesTanksTanks + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi Tank game?

Tanks + Sci-fi

Of 24 developers who shipped a Sci-fi Tank game 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, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $89; 1 in 20 cleared $470k, ×757 the market median. Revenue is up 100% on the market; 60 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 100% on the market, 60 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tanks + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.7k → $120 → $3.7k → $539 → $59 → $598 (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tanks + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $539 (exactly $539)
Top 25% $23k (exactly $22,904)
Top 5% $476k (exactly $475,514)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 106
Announced 60
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 100% on the market, supply 200% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Tanks
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Sci-fi
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Tanks; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Strategy, Shooter
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 3,996 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $89, median $540, 1 in 4 over $22k, 1 in 20 over $470k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + HistoricalFair25 devs · median $5.4k · 26 announced
  2. + Turn-Based StrategyFair25 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  3. + Turn-Based TacticsFair24 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  4. + Tower DefenseFair14 devs · median $1.5k · 13 announced
  5. + Open WorldFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  6. + 2D PlatformerFair11 devs · median $599 · 11 announced
  7. + Online Co-OpPoor odds10 devs · median $16k · 26 announced
  8. + RPGPoor odds13 devs · median $14k · 8 announced
  9. + Turn-Based CombatPoor odds18 devs · median $7.2k · 23 announced
  10. + Action RTSPoor odds12 devs · median $4.0k · 19 announced
  11. + Real Time TacticsPoor odds22 devs · median $3.2k · 38 announced
  12. + TacticalPoor odds49 devs · median $2.5k · 85 announced

All 71 pairs on the Tanks page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Phantom Brigade older $29.99 4,412 81% 132k $4.0M (exactly $3,969,476) Brace Yourself Games
SAND LAND older $59.99 1,018 86% 31k $1.8M (exactly $1,832,095) ILCA, Inc.
CUSTOM MECH WARS older $49.99 563 41% 17k $844k (exactly $844,331) D3PUBLISHER
FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake older $34.99 745 77% 22k $782k (exactly $782,026) Forever Entertainment S. A.
Model Builder: Complete Edition older $19.99 1,058 74% 32k $634k (exactly $634,483) Moonlit S.A.
Battlezone 98 Redux older $19.99 1,044 91% 31k $626k (exactly $626,087) Big Boat Interactive
TurretGirls $9.99 1,882 85% 56k $564k (exactly $564,035) NANAIRO ENTERPRISE
Battlezone: Combat Commander older $19.99 851 90% 26k $510k (exactly $510,345) Big Boat Interactive
FRONT MISSION 3: Remake $34.99 453 74% 14k $476k (exactly $475,514) MegaPixel Studio S.A.
Brigador Killers · EA $24.99 572 69% 17k $429k (exactly $428,828) Stellar Jockeys, Gausswerks
Mech Havoc · EA $9.99 813 96% 24k $244k (exactly $243,656) Mid Development
Tactical Annihilation $15.99 56 98% 1.7k $27k (exactly $26,863) B.G. Game Studio
BROTANK $4.99 153 81% 4.6k $23k (exactly $22,904) Dfirend Games
Tactical Warfare $9.99 52 67% 1.6k $16k (exactly $15,584) Mizrab
Oath of Steel $18.99 4 0% 120 $2.3k (exactly $2,279) Ling Jun
Battle Echoes $6.99 7 85% 210 $1.5k (exactly $1,468) rose may games
Mk50TWL Vehicle Battler Custom Slider · EA $4.99 4 100% 120 $599 (exactly $599) TimberWoodLumber Games

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