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Should I ship a Zombie Tactical RPG?
Tactical RPG + Zombies
Of 23 developers who shipped a Zombie Tactical RPG 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.. 36 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×313 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 36 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $5.1k (exactly $5,095) |
| Top 5% | $196k (exactly $196,409) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 63 |
| Announced | 36 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 50% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Tactical RPG
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Zombies
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Tactical RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Strategy RPG
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 1,433 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Tactical RPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + Space SimFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + RobotsPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
- + WarPoor odds
Comparable games
Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten (DX edition) 2012 · $1.2M 
Pathway 2019 · $915k 
The Shadow of Yidhra 2021 · $447k 
Vultures - Scavengers of Death 2026 · $287k 
Black & White 2023 · $275k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten (DX edition) | older | $14.99 | 2,722 94% | 82k | $1.2M (exactly $1,224,083) | Level Up Labs, LLC |
| | Pathway | older | $15.99 | 1,908 76% | 57k | $915k (exactly $915,268) | Robotality |
| | The Shadow of Yidhra | older | $10.99 | 1,355 89% | 41k | $447k (exactly $446,744) | WhitePeach |
| | Vultures - Scavengers of Death | $17.99 | 532 81% | 16k | $287k (exactly $287,120) | Team Vultures | |
| | Black & White | older | $14.99 | 612 71% | 18k | $275k (exactly $275,216) | 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame) |
 | Age of Fear: The Undead King | older | $24.99 | 294 89% | 8.8k | $220k (exactly $220,412) | Leslaw Sliwko |
 | Breach & Clear: Deadline Rebirth (2016) | older | $9.99 | 715 53% | 21k | $214k (exactly $214,286) | Mighty Rabbit Studios, Gun Media |
 | Dead Grid | $12.99 | 504 93% | 15k | $196k (exactly $196,409) | Atom Void | |
 | Age of Fear 3: The Legend | older | $29.99 | 164 93% | 4.9k | $148k (exactly $147,551) | Leslaw Sliwko |
 | MEMOLITH: Forsaken by Light | $19.99 | 220 76% | 6.6k | $132k (exactly $131,934) | Black Anchor | |
 | Sword Mistress of the Dungeon Town | $17.99 | 38 65% | 1.1k | $21k (exactly $20,509) | ラブリープリチー超愛してる, Lovely Pretty Ultra Lov… (ラブリープリチー超愛してる, Lovely Pretty Ultra Loving You) | |
 | Day Zero | · EA | $4.99 | 39 79% | 1.2k | $5.8k (exactly $5,838) | Imdie Studios |
 | SoulTrigger | · EA | $9.99 | 17 94% | 510 | $5.1k (exactly $5,095) | YHDATABASE |
 | Downward Spear | · EA | $14.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $4.5k (exactly $4,497) | imakegame software |
 | 鬼灵的冒险GUILING's Adventure | $1.99 | 54 94% | 1.6k | $3.2k (exactly $3,224) | 硅晶石工作室Sicrystal Studio | |
 | Dreadstone Keep | $7.99 | 9 100% | 270 | $2.2k (exactly $2,157) | Crit42 Studio | |
 | ACESurvivor | $4.99 | 10 50% | 300 | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) | brainstorm Solo Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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