Do I ship it?

GamesStrategyStrategy + Tanks

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tanks Strategy game?

Strategy + Tanks

Of 65 developers who shipped a Tanks Strategy 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.. 108 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $790k, ×1266 the market median. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 108 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 90% on the market, 108 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy + Tanks
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 65
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.0k → $1.1k → $23k → $1.1k → $3.2k → $1.3k → $23k (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy + Tanks: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 65
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,279)
Top 25% $32k (exactly $32,384)
Top 5% $795k (exactly $795,335)
Developers, 2 yr 65
Released games 311
Announced 108
Effort 5 / 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 90% on the market, supply 15% 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.

Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Tanks
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Strategy, Tanks; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Tactical, Wargame, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 59% positive over 31,555 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $790k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 43 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 108 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds50 devs · median $65k · 27 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair62 devs · median $16k · 74 announced
  3. + BaseballFair14 devs · median $7.5k · 7 announced
  4. + LGBTQ+Fair89 devs · median $6.7k · 91 announced
  5. + WuxiaFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 41 announced
  6. + FarmingFair44 devs · median $4.3k · 42 announced
  7. + Martial ArtsFair81 devs · median $3.0k · 94 announced
  8. + SubmarineFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  9. + NavalFair66 devs · median $2.2k · 88 announced
  10. + IdlerFair696 devs · median $1.9k · 988 announced
  11. + Shop KeeperFair159 devs · median $1.8k · 264 announced
  12. + HackingFair96 devs · median $1.2k · 132 announced

All 275 pairs on the Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hell Let Loose older $49.99 99,628 83% 3.0M $149M (exactly $149,412,112) Expression Games
Company of Heroes 2 older $19.99 68,909 80% 2.1M $41M (exactly $41,324,727) Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive… (Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux))
Broken Arrow $49.99 25,924 55% 778k $39M (exactly $38,878,223) Steel Balalaika
Men of War: Assault Squad 2 older $29.99 35,744 91% 1.1M $32M (exactly $32,158,877) Digitalmindsoft
Command & Conquer™ Remastered Collection older $19.99 31,503 90% 945k $19M (exactly $18,892,349) Petroglyph, Lemon Sky Studios
WARNO older $39.99 14,502 80% 435k $17M (exactly $17,398,049) Eugen Systems
ShellShock Live older $9.99 29,340 93% 880k $8.8M (exactly $8,793,198) kChamp Games
Valkyria Chronicles 4 Complete Edition older $49.99 5,691 86% 171k $8.5M (exactly $8,534,793) SEGA
Men of War II older $44.99 5,614 60% 168k $7.6M (exactly $7,577,216) Best Way
Valkyria Chronicles™ older $19.99 10,832 89% 325k $6.5M (exactly $6,495,950) SEGA
Sudden Strike 5 $49.99 641 75% 19k $961k (exactly $961,308) Kite Games
Metal Slug Tactics $24.99 1,152 76% 35k $864k (exactly $863,654) Leikir Studio
KAISERPUNK $29.99 884 71% 27k $795k (exactly $795,335) Overseer Games
FRONT MISSION 3: Remake $34.99 453 74% 14k $476k (exactly $475,514) MegaPixel Studio S.A.
Warside $24.99 547 68% 16k $410k (exactly $410,086) LAVABIRD
Trench Lord: Eastern Front $11.99 774 83% 23k $278k (exactly $278,408) Tracer Studio, LING YUN CO.,LTD.
Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3 $39.99 220 89% 6.6k $264k (exactly $263,934) CyberConnect2
Mech Havoc · EA $9.99 813 96% 24k $244k (exactly $243,656) Mid Development
Armored Brigade II $39.99 147 87% 4.4k $176k (exactly $176,356) Veitikka Studios

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