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Should I ship a Science Tactical game?
Tactical + Science
Of 23 developers who shipped a Science Tactical 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.. 35 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $210 in the last 2 years and $270 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 15 developers shipped in the last year and 35 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $30 (exactly $30) |
|---|---|
| Median | $210 (exactly $210) |
| Top 25% | $2.4k (exactly $2,395) |
| Top 5% | $31k (exactly $31,029) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 63 |
| Announced | 35 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- Tactical; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Management, RTS
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 321 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Tactical with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Football (American)Strong odds
- + Mystery DungeonStrong odds
- + Dating SimFair
- + 6DOFFair
- + Word GameFair
- + TypingFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Dynamic NarrationFair
- + Farming SimFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
Comparable games
Base One 2021 · $343k 
Reactor Tech² 2021 · $159k 
Tornado: Research and Rescue 2023 · EA · $139k 
PRINCIPIA: Master of Science 2016 · EA · $91k 
Cell Command 2025 · $86k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Base One | older | $24.99 | 458 36% | 14k | $343k (exactly $343,363) | PixFroze |
| | Reactor Tech² | older | $14.99 | 353 68% | 11k | $159k (exactly $158,744) | 4Co |
| | Tornado: Research and Rescue | · EA older | $12.99 | 356 85% | 11k | $139k (exactly $138,733) | Sam Kennedy |
| | PRINCIPIA: Master of Science | · EA older | $9.99 | 302 69% | 9.1k | $91k (exactly $90,509) | tomeapp |
| | Cell Command | $17.99 | 159 97% | 4.8k | $86k (exactly $85,812) | Alpherior | |
 | Rabbit Riot | older | $39.99 | 49 87% | 1.5k | $59k (exactly $58,785) | Reactor Studios |
 | Evolve Lab | · EA | $14.99 | 69 94% | 2.1k | $31k (exactly $31,029) | SiRen Games |
 | ALAN-13 Reformation | older | $15.99 | 34 82% | 1.0k | $16k (exactly $16,310) | Viktor Kovács |
 | Taxer Inc | · EA older | $7.99 | 59 38% | 1.8k | $14k (exactly $14,142) | Hamsters Gaming |
 | Spacefleet: Heat Death | · EA | $11.99 | 36 86% | 1.1k | $13k (exactly $12,949) | Spacezero Interactive |
 | Gelluloid Domination | $11.99 | 13 84% | 390 | $4.7k (exactly $4,676) | Tractor Set GO! | |
 | Propa. | $7.99 | 11 54% | 330 | $2.6k (exactly $2,637) | Contagio Games | |
 | Chemistower | $4.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $2.4k (exactly $2,395) | Wunoumenal | |
 | Freenergy | $6.99 | 11 100% | 330 | $2.3k (exactly $2,307) | Mir | |
 | Bomb Squad | $14.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | International Headquarters | |
 | TET~CRAFT: The Fourth Temple | $33.33 | 1 100% | 30 | $1.0k (exactly $1,000) | ceneezer | |
 | Orbloom | $8.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $270 (exactly $270) | Glowber Era |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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