Games › Tactical › Tactical + Thriller
Should I ship a Thriller Tactical game?
Tactical + Thriller
Of 32 developers who shipped a Thriller 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.. 54 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $230k, ×370 the market median. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 54 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $718 (exactly $718) |
| Top 25% | $2.6k (exactly $2,638) |
| Top 5% | $233k (exactly $232,567) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 74 |
| Announced | 54 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 140% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, 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
- Tactical; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Investigation
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 2,411 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Tactical with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Football (American)Strong odds
- + Mystery DungeonStrong odds
- + Dating SimFair
- + 6DOFFair
- + Word GameFair
- + TypingFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Dynamic NarrationFair
- + Farming SimFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
Comparable games
Phasmophobia 2020 · EA · $410M 
Demonologist 2023 · $11M 
Gunman Contracts - Stand Alone 2026 · EA · $885k 
Project Unknown 2025 · $233k 
Lakeview Cabin 2 2023 · $227k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Phasmophobia | · EA older | $19.99 | 684,009 94% | 21M | $410M (exactly $410,200,197) | Kinetic Games |
| | Demonologist | older | $19.99 | 18,886 85% | 567k | $11M (exactly $11,325,934) | Clock Wizard Games |
| | Gunman Contracts - Stand Alone | · EA | $24.99 | 1,180 78% | 35k | $885k (exactly $884,646) | ANB_Seth |
| | Project Unknown | $9.99 | 776 81% | 23k | $233k (exactly $232,567) | PsychoRavens | |
| | Lakeview Cabin 2 | older | $13.99 | 542 96% | 16k | $227k (exactly $227,477) | Roope Tamminen |
 | Bendy: Lone Wolf | $19.99 | 259 77% | 7.8k | $155k (exactly $155,322) | Joey Drew Studios | |
 | Tornado: Research and Rescue | · EA older | $12.99 | 356 85% | 11k | $139k (exactly $138,733) | Sam Kennedy |
 | INVITATION To FEAR | older | $4.99 | 420 62% | 13k | $63k (exactly $62,874) | CHEST BOX |
 | Misery Mansion | older | $17.99 | 87 72% | 2.6k | $47k (exactly $46,954) | Manic Mice |
 | Deadly Quiet | $9.75 | 89 55% | 2.7k | $26k (exactly $26,032) | Tarba Paul Cornel, Abdul Rafy | |
 | UNSIGHT | $7.99 | 42 50% | 1.3k | $10k (exactly $10,067) | C51 Games | |
 | Fullbright Presents TOILET SPIDERS | $5.99 | 26 73% | 780 | $4.7k (exactly $4,672) | Fullbright | |
 | False Alarm | $9.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) | Scattered Discs | |
 | Haunted Dorm | $10.99 | 8 50% | 240 | $2.6k (exactly $2,638) | mihuangame | |
 | Smile Protocol | $5.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $2.3k (exactly $2,336) | OxygenStudio | |
 | Bomb Squad | $14.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | International Headquarters |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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