Games › Tanks › Tanks + Shoot 'Em Up
Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up Tank game?
Tanks + Shoot 'Em Up
Only 17 developers shipped a Shoot 'Em Up Tank 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, Mech Havoc, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 30 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $150 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 11 developers shipped in the last year and 30 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $89 (exactly $89) |
|---|---|
| Median | $150 (exactly $150) |
| Top 25% | $898 (exactly $898) |
| Top 5% | $244k (exactly $243,656) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 74 |
| Announced | 30 |
| 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 down 70% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Shoot 'Em Up
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Tanks, Shoot 'Em Up; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Shooter, Action, Top-Down Shooter
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 96% positive over 911 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Tanks with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + HistoricalFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + Open WorldFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + RPGPoor odds
- + Turn-Based CombatPoor odds
- + Action RTSPoor odds
- + Real Time TacticsPoor odds
- + TacticalPoor odds
Comparable games
Multi Turret Academy 2024 · EA · $480k 
Mech Havoc 2025 · EA · $244k 
Commando Collection 2024 · $212k 
Wee Tanks! 2023 · $164k 
Aircraft Evolution 2018 · $60k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Multi Turret Academy | · EA older | $8.99 | 1,778 95% | 53k | $480k (exactly $479,527) | Yulia Games |
| | Mech Havoc | · EA | $9.99 | 813 96% | 24k | $244k (exactly $243,656) | Mid Development |
| | Commando Collection | older | $4.99 | 1,414 95% | 42k | $212k (exactly $211,676) | Macrojoy |
| | Wee Tanks! | older | $9.99 | 548 90% | 16k | $164k (exactly $164,236) | Studio Kit |
| | Aircraft Evolution | older | $8.99 | 221 80% | 6.6k | $60k (exactly $59,604) | Satur Entertainment |
 | Furious Angels | older | $4.99 | 345 87% | 10k | $52k (exactly $51,646) | MorfeoDev |
 | Tank Destroyer | older | $4.99 | 318 76% | 9.5k | $48k (exactly $47,605) | Freedomize Studio |
 | Ballistic Tanks | older | $4.99 | 212 81% | 6.4k | $32k (exactly $31,736) | Kirklight Games |
 | City Siege: Faction Island | older | $4.99 | 135 66% | 4.1k | $20k (exactly $20,210) | Ish Games |
 | Battle of Vukovar: Rain of Steel | · EA older | $9.99 | 59 55% | 1.8k | $18k (exactly $17,682) | Cro Game Developers |
 | Exo Wanderers | · EA | $11.99 | 22 100% | 660 | $7.9k (exactly $7,913) | 什工坊SueStudio |
 | Threads of War | $4.99 | 45 97% | 1.4k | $6.7k (exactly $6,736) | KoS | |
 | Valor 1944 | $9.99 | 14 92% | 420 | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) | Sunroom Games | |
 | Griffin 「グリフォン」 | $5.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $898 (exactly $898) | Ratalaika Games S.L., Shinyuden | |
 | Rogue Tanks | $4.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $898 (exactly $898) | Clayton Games | |
 | Soul Machine | $4.99 | 2 0% | 60 | $299 (exactly $299) | Zanarka Studio | |
 | GG Tanks | $4.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $299 (exactly $299) | Rodrigo Pistorello Vidor | |
 | Turning The Tide | $4.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | Funky Monkey Games | |
 | Tanks: Total Destruction | $4.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | 2DevStudio |
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.