Should I ship a Space Tank game?
Tanks + Space
Only 7 developers shipped a Space 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, TurretGirls, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 17 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.0k against a market of $630. 17 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $7.9k (exactly $7,913) |
| Top 5% | $564k (exactly $564,035) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 7 |
| Released games | 30 |
| Announced | 17 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 75% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, 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
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Tanks
- Price point
- $6.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 5,115 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 17 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Tanks with a different setting or mood, 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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 |
| | Planet Cube: Edge | older | $14.99 | 110 90% | 3.3k | $49k (exactly $49,467) | Sunna Entertainment |
| | ReEarth | older | $7.99 | 116 74% | 3.5k | $28k (exactly $27,805) | Jiangzuogongfang Shanghai Game Co.,Ltd |
| | Exo Wanderers | · EA | $11.99 | 22 100% | 660 | $7.9k (exactly $7,913) | 什工坊SueStudio |
| | Bionite: Origins | older | $11.99 | 5 20% | 150 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | Platoon Studios |
| | War Beasts | older | $2.99 | 20 75% | 600 | $1.8k (exactly $1,794) | Beast Of World |
| | Battle Echoes | $6.99 | 7 85% | 210 | $1.5k (exactly $1,468) | rose may games | |
| | Tankiro | $4.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) | Rmonak | |
| | Mk50TWL Vehicle Battler Custom Slider | · EA | $4.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $599 (exactly $599) | TimberWoodLumber Games |
| | EarthDaddy | $6.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | 星际电竞大学野校长 | |
| | Sunfall '80 | $3.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Sean Beyer |
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.