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Should I ship a Trading Tactical game?
Tactical + Trading
Of 26 developers who shipped a Trading 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.. 46 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, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×364 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 46 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $450 (exactly $450) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $9.6k (exactly $9,590) |
| Top 5% | $229k (exactly $228,742) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 64 |
| Announced | 46 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 40% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, 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, Trading; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Resource Management
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 3,168 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 46 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Tactical with a different second tag, 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
Out of the Park Baseball 26 2025 · $1.2M 
Power & Revolution 2022 Edition 2022 · $1.2M 
The Oregon Trail 2022 · $1.1M 
TRADESMAN: Deal to Dealer 2026 · $229k 
Rise of Industry 2 2025 · $162k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Out of the Park Baseball 26 | $49.99 | 819 82% | 25k | $1.2M (exactly $1,228,254) | Out of the Park Developments | |
| | Power & Revolution 2022 Edition | older | $49.99 | 815 60% | 24k | $1.2M (exactly $1,222,256) | Eversim |
| | The Oregon Trail | older | $29.99 | 1,220 79% | 37k | $1.1M (exactly $1,097,634) | Gameloft |
| | TRADESMAN: Deal to Dealer | $4.99 | 1,528 78% | 46k | $229k (exactly $228,742) | AZAMATIKA | |
| | Rise of Industry 2 | $34.99 | 154 55% | 4.6k | $162k (exactly $161,654) | SomaSim | |
 | Franchise Hockey Manager 7 | older | $19.99 | 241 77% | 7.2k | $145k (exactly $144,528) | Out of the Park Developments, Minos Gam… (Out of the Park Developments, Minos Games) |
 | Pro Basketball Manager 2025 | $24.99 | 169 68% | 5.1k | $127k (exactly $126,699) | Umix Studios | |
 | Interstellaria | older | $9.99 | 353 53% | 11k | $106k (exactly $105,794) | Coldrice Games LLC |
 | CFS (Chinese Football Simulator) | $9.99 | 290 67% | 8.7k | $87k (exactly $86,913) | 悟空实验室 | |
 | East India Company | older | $9.99 | 190 52% | 5.7k | $57k (exactly $56,943) | Nitro Games |
 | Mittelland AD | $8.99 | 117 96% | 3.5k | $32k (exactly $31,555) | BKM | |
 | City Supermarket Simulator | $9.99 | 32 75% | 960 | $9.6k (exactly $9,590) | FunPlay Dev | |
 | Cube Kingdoms | $7.49 | 27 92% | 810 | $6.1k (exactly $6,067) | GamingPugsStudios | |
 | Gun Shop Manager | · EA | $12.99 | 13 38% | 390 | $5.1k (exactly $5,066) | Aiolos Studios, Welter Games |
 | Exodus: The Colonization of Space | $6.99 | 19 100% | 570 | $4.0k (exactly $3,984) | Artex |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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