Do I ship it?

GamesTacticalTactical + Underwater

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underwater Tactical game?

Tactical + Underwater

Only 10 developers shipped an Underwater Tactical 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, Modern Naval Warfare, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 9 more are announced.

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 $420k, ×679 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 9 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 9 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tactical + Underwater
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 10
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $24k → $22k → $13k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tactical + Underwater: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 10
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $22,438)
Top 5% $427k (exactly $426,529)
Developers, 2 yr 10
Released games 29
Announced 9
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 down 95% on the market, supply 50% 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.

Tactical
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Underwater
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
Tactical
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 8 games average 77% positive over 469 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $22k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 6 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 9 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Tactical with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Football (American)Strong odds12 devs · median $5.8k · 8 announced
  2. + Mystery DungeonStrong odds20 devs · median $2.5k · 15 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair13 devs · median $11k · 9 announced
  4. + 6DOFFair14 devs · median $2.4k · 19 announced
  5. + Word GameFair23 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 9 announced
  7. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $1.0k · 10 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair38 devs · median $987 · 57 announced
  9. + Dynamic NarrationFair13 devs · median $899 · 16 announced
  10. + Farming SimFair12 devs · median $897 · 10 announced
  11. + SolitaireFair25 devs · median $479 · 22 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Fair20 devs · median $479 · 21 announced

All 226 pairs on the Tactical page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Modern Naval Warfare · EA $59.99 237 58% 7.1k $427k (exactly $426,529) Wave Ops
Microcosmum: survival of cells older $7.99 1,117 80% 34k $268k (exactly $267,745) Satur Entertainment
Stirring Abyss older $24.99 334 88% 10k $250k (exactly $250,400) Sleepy Sentry, K-Project
X-COM: Terror From the Deep older $4.99 764 92% 23k $114k (exactly $114,371) MicroProse Software, Inc
Crash Dive 2 older $11.99 233 95% 7.0k $84k (exactly $83,810) Panic Ensues Software
Submarine Titans older $4.99 348 86% 10k $52k (exactly $52,096) Ellipse Studios
Kingdom of Wreck Business older $9.99 127 31% 3.8k $38k (exactly $38,062) WarZoneLab
Evolve Lab · EA $14.99 69 94% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,029) SiRen Games
Subsiege older $19.99 43 46% 1.3k $26k (exactly $25,787) Icebird Studios
Swirl W@tch older $14.99 54 98% 1.6k $24k (exactly $24,284) Sleeper Games
Operation Octo $6.99 107 98% 3.2k $22k (exactly $22,438) Klub Kofta Studio
The people of Sea, Sun & Salt $9.99 44 100% 1.3k $13k (exactly $13,187) Emerick Gibson
Reef Defense $9.99 4 100% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) Swift Creek Games
Cool Game Pack $4.99 6 100% 180 $898 (exactly $898) COOL 2 Interactive
Water Polo Manager 2026 · EA $14.99 1 100% 30 $450 (exactly $450) BOSSMADE Games
Mast Up! Seas of Desire $1.99 1 0% 30 $60 (exactly $60) Kopon Games
bubble $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) prefowl
Coralland $12.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) CLASSYXOCEAN

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