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Should I ship a Swordplay Tactical game?
Swordplay + Tactical
Of 28 developers who shipped a Swordplay 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.. 58 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $2.6M, ×4237 the market median. Revenue is up 1220% on the market; 58 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,126) |
| Top 5% | $2.7M (exactly $2,660,990) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 81 |
| Announced | 58 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 up 1220% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, 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
- Swordplay, Tactical; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, RPG
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 24,020 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Swordplay with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Shoot 'Em UpLong shot
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + FightingPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
Comparable games
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS 2025 · $41M 
Wandering Sword 2023 · $28M 
NORSE: Oath of Blood 2026 · $2.7M 
BRUTALISTICK VR 2024 · EA · $537k 
Ludus Magnatus: Gladiator Manager Simulator 2026 · EA · $459k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS | $69.99 | 19,578 92% | 587k | $41M (exactly $41,107,927) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
| | Wandering Sword | older | $24.99 | 37,034 94% | 1.1M | $28M (exactly $27,764,390) | The Swordman Studio |
| | NORSE: Oath of Blood | $34.99 | 2,535 56% | 76k | $2.7M (exactly $2,660,990) | Arctic Hazard | |
| | BRUTALISTICK VR | · EA older | $9.99 | 1,793 94% | 54k | $537k (exactly $537,362) | Kubunautilus |
| | Ludus Magnatus: Gladiator Manager Simulator | · EA | $24.99 | 612 81% | 18k | $459k (exactly $458,816) | Contec Games |
 | Project MIKHAIL: A Muv-Luv War Story | older | $19.99 | 706 54% | 21k | $423k (exactly $423,388) | aNCHOR Inc., fuzz, Inc. |
 | Age of Gladiators II: Rome | older | $19.99 | 272 66% | 8.2k | $163k (exactly $163,118) | Creative Storm Entertainment |
 | Ninja Village | older | $8.99 | 546 93% | 16k | $147k (exactly $147,256) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd |
 | Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story | older | $14.99 | 247 59% | 7.4k | $111k (exactly $111,076) | Agate |
 | 小小侠客模拟器 | $2.99 | 1,103 86% | 33k | $99k (exactly $98,939) | 小小游戏 | |
 | Superstar Strategy | $19.99 | 23 95% | 690 | $14k (exactly $13,793) | Talberon Games | |
 | Shadow Prisoner | · EA | $13.99 | 32 93% | 960 | $13k (exactly $13,430) | Kizawaya |
 | Politon | $4.99 | 81 90% | 2.4k | $12k (exactly $12,126) | Pinq Games | |
 | Robin Hood: Sherwood Defenders | $11.99 | 25 44% | 750 | $9.0k (exactly $8,992) | MeanAstronauts | |
 | Dungeons and Warbands | · EA | $14.99 | 16 56% | 480 | $7.2k (exactly $7,195) | Omer Erenturk |
 | BannerBound | · EA | $12.99 | 15 73% | 450 | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) | Cosmic noise |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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