Do I ship it?

GamesSportsSports + Tactical RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tactical RPG Sports game?

Sports + Tactical RPG

Only 15 developers shipped a Tactical RPG Sports 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, Smash it Wild: Tactical Volleyball Roguelike, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 26 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $38k, ×61 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 26 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 26 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sports + Tactical RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.9k → $9.0k → $1.5k → $4.2k → $1.2k → $4.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Sports + Tactical RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,239)
Top 25% $4.8k (exactly $4,795)
Top 5% $38k (exactly $38,128)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 58
Announced 26
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 45% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Sports
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Tactical RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
Sports, Tactical RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Simulation, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Side Scroller
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 283 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $4.7k, 1 in 20 over $38k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. All of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Sports with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dynamic NarrationStrong odds17 devs · median $4.2k · 9 announced
  2. + CraftingFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Strategy RPGFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 26 announced
  4. + SandboxFair83 devs · median $4.2k · 103 announced
  5. + Split ScreenFair58 devs · median $4.0k · 52 announced
  6. + Dating SimFair29 devs · median $3.6k · 21 announced
  7. + Visual NovelFair38 devs · median $3.4k · 31 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair14 devs · median $3.4k · 13 announced
  9. + FMVFair17 devs · median $2.7k · 5 announced
  10. + BikesFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 18 announced
  11. + Immersive SimFair182 devs · median $2.4k · 185 announced
  12. + Choices MatterFair120 devs · median $2.4k · 150 announced

All 199 pairs on the Sports page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Punch Club 2: Fast Forward older $19.99 3,808 81% 114k $2.3M (exactly $2,283,658) Lazy Bear Games
Rugby League Team Manager 3 older $39.99 75 80% 2.3k $90k (exactly $89,978) Alternative Software Ltd
Dungeon Deathball older $11.99 193 95% 5.8k $69k (exactly $69,422) Matt Glanville
Volley Court older $5.99 251 88% 7.5k $45k (exactly $45,105) Dopamine Dealer
Smash it Wild: Tactical Volleyball Roguelike $11.99 106 83% 3.2k $38k (exactly $38,128) Goblinz Studio, Ernestine
Ganbare! Super Strikers older $9.99 85 85% 2.6k $25k (exactly $25,474) rese
Desert Special Forces older $19.99 20 65% 600 $12k (exactly $11,994) Gamesforgames
Just skill shooter 2 older $9.99 32 53% 960 $9.6k (exactly $9,590) Gamesforgames
Fight till the End! older $19.99 15 66% 450 $9.0k (exactly $8,996) Gamesforgames
Fox Golf older $19.99 15 86% 450 $9.0k (exactly $8,996) Fox Games
Punch to Glory $6.99 42 92% 1.3k $8.8k (exactly $8,807) Musa GUNGOR
Gridiron Masters '98 · EA $9.99 27 81% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) Software98
The Great Axe $19.99 13 84% 390 $7.8k (exactly $7,796) Gamesforgames
Gold Defence $9.99 20 65% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Gamesforgames
Just Skill Shooter: Catacombs $9.99 17 64% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) Gamesforgames
PipeFlow $9.99 16 75% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Sharkgame
Turn Based Boxing: Tactics - Legends Edition $9.99 14 85% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) The Slanted Room
Summoner's Automata $9.99 14 85% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Gamesforgames
Survalker $9.99 14 85% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Gamesforgames

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