Genres

Ticker: price and year-over-year change for 40 genres. Price is the median estimated first-year revenue of indie paid launches. The change shows for genres with 100+ launches. The same figures are on the Genres page.

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201,879
on 11 Nov 2026

At $10 to $20: 14 in 100 earned $100k+, against 21 in 100 for all genres at that price.

Genres / Tactical RPG

Tactical RPG

399 launches studied, 4,348 store games
Figures of 11 Nov 2026

1 in 11 Tactical RPG launches earned $100k+ in their first year, above the 1 in 15 for all genres. Price matters most: at $20 to $40 it is 54 in 100, against 44 in 100 for all genres. No single game dominates: the biggest, Tactical Breach Wizards, holds 17% of its money.

Chance of $100k+1 in 11Above all genres37 of 399 launches earned $100k+ in year one. All genres 1 in 15, 26,758 launches.
At $10 to $2014 in 100Below its price17 of 122 launches at $10 to $20, typical $11,700. All genres at that price 21 in 100.
Typical first year$1,150Above all genresHalf of 399 launches earned more. All genres $562, the cohort median. Sales on Steam before Steam's cut; about 58% of it reaches the developer.
Biggest game's share16.6%Money spread outTactical Breach Wizards, of the money from 399 launches. Without it 1 in 11 hit $100k+.
New store launches+25.2%Launches up363 in the last 12 months, 290 the 12 before. All store games with the tag.

The eight cards

Fixed order: odds, earnings, the one-hit check and life cycle, then demand, upcoming and the two gold cards. Click a price on Launch odds to read the page at that price. Figures of 11 Nov 2026.

Launch odds

by price

Odds of a $100k+ first year, by price

$10 to $2017 of 122 launches14 in 100
PriceActualExpectedAllUnder $5$5 to $10$10 to $20$20 to $40

Lens checkHolds in 3 of 3. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: holds.

Compare prices

Earnings

$10 to $20

Estimated first-year earnings. Sales on Steam before Steam's cut; about 58% of it reaches the developer.

Typical gamemedian of 122$11,700
Top quarter over$53,020
Top tenth over$137,764
Reach $100k+14 in 100
All genres, this price$11,233
Launches studied122

Lens checkChanged recently. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: moves the answer.

How earnings work

One-hit check

top game

Money in one gameSpread

Tactical Breach Wizardsthe biggest, under half16.6%

17 in 100dollars went to one game

1 in 11hit $100k+ without it, was 1 in 11

Lens checkHolds in 3 of 3. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: holds.

Why medians hold up

Life cycle

needs data

New launches a year, all store games

363 launcheslast 12 months, was 290+25.2%
Tell me when ready

Rising demand

#28 of 107

Holds players vs same-age games, descriptive

No clear changethe range includes no change, 117 games-2.8%
Vs same-age games-2.8%
Without top game-4.5%
Reviews5,039was 8,596
Top game23.8%of reviews

Lens checkWithout the breakout: holds. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: not run yet. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: not run yet.

See all 107 genres

Upcoming

in genre

Wishlistable now, most wanted first

Shadow of the Roadwishlist rank #1541,218 games
Shadow of the RoadMar 10#154
Vampire Clansno date#489
Ascenders: Beyond the Peak2027#576
The Plague Lords: Black Death2027#808
Lancer Tacticsno date#813
Get release alerts

Best pairs

could be luck

Best odds of a $100k+ year, with expectedFree until launch

+ Turn-Based Tacticsabout 1.0 times expected (12 in 100)12 in 100
PairActualExpected+ Turn-Based Tactics+ Roguelike+ Pixel Graphics+ Turn-Based Strategy+ Strategy RPG

Lens checkHolds in 2 of 3, 1 too few to tell. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: too few to tell.

Open free preview
Best pairsFree until launchClick to unlockWhich pairs beat the odds

Spotlight

every board

Every board, one cardFree until launch

Tactical RPGtypical, last 4 quarters$1,246
Last 4 quarters$1,246221 launches, -23.1%
Launch success#59of 116, 10 in 100
Anticipated#55of 135, 119 on chart
Rising demand#28of 107, -2.8%
Open free preview
SpotlightFree until launchClick to unlockEvery board, one card

Data facts

Every count on this page, with its sample and date, in seven labels. The numbered notes beside each label say what each figure means, where it comes from and what limits it.

Data facts

Tactical RPG, genre page

7 labels per genre page

Cohort1Steam launches 12 to 36 months oldindie paid
Figures as of2odds and earnings of 2 Nov 202611 Nov 2026
1

Who is counted

Indie paid Steam launches 12 to 36 months old: old enough to have a full first year, recent enough to be today's market. Games from major publishers, games over $40, adult and free games are left out.

399 of the 4,348 store games tagged Tactical RPG are in it; the rest are older, newer, free or from big publishers. All genres together: 26,758 launches.

2

Where it comes from

Odds, earnings, lenses and pairs: figures made on 2 Nov 2026 from GMD's warehouse of store data.

Boards, launch counts and upcoming games: the store data of 11 Nov 2026. Every figure is derived from public store data; no game list is copied.

Sample

Per 399 launches, 2 Nov 2026

MeasureLaunches

Launches studied1399
under $5123
$5 to $10119
$10 to $20122
$20 to $4035
All genreslaunches in the cohort26,758
Store games with the tagstore data, 11 Nov 20264,348
3

Small samples

A price band needs 30 launches to be read on this page (the Sample filter; never under 10). Below that the page says "too few" instead of a figure, and under 30 launches or 5 hits a chance is written as a count, such as "10 of 20 launches".

Even at 30 launches, one extra hit moves the chance by over 3 in 100, so treat close figures as equal. Pairs need 30+ launches to be ranked: 7 of 18 qualify.

4

Price is built in

Revenue is estimated from reviews times price, so a dearer game reaches $100k with fewer reviews. That makes odds climb with price in every genre. All genres: 1 in 230 under $5, 1 in 28 $5 to $10, 21 in 100 $10 to $20, 44 in 100 $20 to $40.

So compare odds within a price band. "Expected at its prices" is the chance this genre would have if each of its launches did as well as all games at the same price: 11 in 100.

First-year earnings

Per 399 launches, 2 Nov 2026, all prices

MeasureEstimated

Earned $100k+5of 399 launches37
Chance of $100k+all genres 1 in 151 in 11
Expected at its prices411 in 100
Beats its prices7actual 1 in 11, expected 11 in 100: could be luckabout 0.8 times
Typical game (median)6half of 399 earned more$1,150
Top quarter over$12,482
Top tenth over$92,143
All genres, cohort median26,758 launches$562
5

A soft estimate

A hit is an estimated first-year revenue of $100k or more: store reviews x a reviews-to-sales multiplier x price x the share of list price actually paid after discounts, with a regional price adjustment (games sold mostly to Chinese-speaking players earn less per sale, because regional prices are lower).

Sales on Steam before Steam's cut; about 58% of it reaches the developer.

Nobody publishes the true multiplier. Across its likely range the all-genre chance moves from 4.8 to 8.4 in 100, and a third of all hits sit within 2x of the $100k line. Read every chance as "about": this genre is about 1 in 11.

6

Typical means median

Half of the launches earned more, half less. One huge hit cannot move it, which is why this page uses medians, not averages.

The all-genre figure beside it is the cohort median ($562, 26,758 launches). "Typical, last 4 quarters" further down is a different measure, named for what it is.

Typical figures are shown from 100 launches; below that the page shows the chance of clearing $1k, $10k and $100k.

7

May be luck

With about 300 genres, chance alone gives the best one a lead near 1.8 times its expected odds (2.05 times for the top 5 in 100).

Tactical RPG beats its prices about 0.8 times (actual 1 in 11, expected 11 in 100), under 1.8 times, so the lead could be luck. There are many more pairs than genres, so the Best pairs card uses higher lines: 2.37 times, and 2.56 for the top 5 in 100.

Lens check

Per 399 launches, 2 Nov 2026, all prices

MeasureStandard is the base

Standard8Base399 of 399 launches, 1 in 11, typical $1,150
West-facing view9Holds356 of 399 launches, 1 in 10, typical $1,276
Without the breakout11Holds398 of 399 launches, 1 in 11, typical $1,150
Last 18 months10Moves the answer133 of 399 launches, 1 in 12, typical $2,401
8

The four lenses

Each lens reruns the figures on a slice of the launches. Standard is the base: every launch in the cohort. It is not a lens that can hold or move.

A lens moves the answer when its chance of $100k+ differs from the standard by more than a random slice of the same size would, with 5+ hits on both sides, or when its typical earnings move over 25% with 100+ launches in the lens. Without the breakout moves it when one game earned over half the money. With fewer hits it is too few to tell. Pips: green holds, coral moves, grey too few or not run.

Lens figures cover all prices; they are not split by price band yet.

9

The West-facing view

The West-facing view keeps games mostly reviewed outside China: it sets aside games with 35% or more of their reviews in Chinese (43 of 399 here).

Review language is measured only for games with 2,000+ reviews; for smaller games it is guessed from the game's name. The audience split is genre-specific: leaving those games out changes typical earnings 53% in FMV and 19% in Dating Sim, yet barely moves the all-genre chance (6.1 to 6.0 in 100).

Here typical earnings move +11.0%, inside the 25% line; 14.2% of its revenue-weighted reviews are in Chinese.

10

Recency

Last 18 months keeps launches 18 months old or newer (133 of 399). Tastes move: only 9 of the top 15 genres by hit rate stay top 15 on recent launches.

When the two disagree, prefer the recent figure. Here: 1 in 12 against 1 in 11, typical $2,401 against $1,150: it moves the answer.

Concentration

Per 399 launches, 2 Nov 2026

MeasureShare of the money

Biggest game's share11Tactical Breach Wizards16.6%
Chance without it398 launches1 in 11
Mostly reviewed in Chinese943 of 399 launches10.8%
Share of Chinese-language reviewsrevenue-weighted, part guessed from names, 11 Nov 202614.2%
11

One-hit markets

A genre is one-hit when one game holds over half its money. Across genres the top game holds 29% in the median genre and the top tenth of games 94%; 57 genres have one game over half.

No single game dominates: the biggest, Tactical Breach Wizards, holds 17% of its money. Totals and shares are safe to read here. Without it, 1 in 11 still hit $100k+.

Market around it

Per store data, 11 Nov 2026

MeasureAll store games

New launches, last 12 months12290 the 12 before, all store games363
Wishlistable now131,218
On the wishlist chart3 adult games left out71
Verified dates, next 90 days0
Pairs with 30+ launches37 of 18
Rising demand14117 games, #28 of 107-2.8%
Launch success rank#59 of 116
Most anticipated rank#55 of 135
Typical, last 4 quarters221 launches, -23.1% on a year$1,246
12

Launch counts

New launches count every store game with the tag released in each 12 months, not only the indie cohort, from the store data of 11 Nov 2026.

363 against 290 is +25.2%: more games now compete for the same players. Earlier years and a life-cycle stage are not computed yet.

13

Upcoming games

1,218 store pages carry the tag and can be wishlisted. 71 are on Steam's wishlist chart (3 adult games left out).

A date counts as verified only when the release-calendar job checked it against the live store, for the next 90 days. Other dates are as the store lists them.

14

Boards and ranks

Rising demand: games here hold their players better than similar games of the same age (reviews, games launched since 2021), Aug to Oct 2026 against 2025, from 117 games. It describes; the backtest found it does not predict launches.

Ranks are among 116 (Launch success), 135 (Most anticipated), 107 (Rising demand), 126 (Typical earnings) genres. Typical, last 4 quarters ($1,246, 221 launches) uses launches of 2024Q4 to 2025Q3 only, so it differs from the cohort median.

Not computed yet

Per genre, as of 2 Nov 2026

MeasureSaid, never guessed

Lens figures by price band15not yet
Life-cycle stagenot yet
Gaining fastnot yet
Outside sales checknot yet

Derived figures only, estimated from public store data. GMD is not affiliated with Valve.

15

Not computed yet

Lens figures by price band: lens figures are not split by price yet.

Life-cycle stage: needs launch counts further back than two years.

Gaining fast: follower readings started 30 Sep; first readings 13 Oct.

An outside check: the backtest scores predictions against the same review-based estimate, so it shows review counts are predictable, not revenue. Fixing that needs outside sales data.

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Odds today37 of 399 hit $100k+1 in 11
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Preview

Its first email, from today's figures

SubjectTactical RPG this month: odds, earnings, releases

Chance of $100k+37 of 399 launches, first year
1 in 11
Typical first year (median)half of 399 launches earned more
$1,150
Typical, last 4 quarters vs a year before221 launches, typical $1,246
-23.1%
New launches, last 12 months290 the 12 before, all store games
363
Next verified releaseno verified date in the next 90 days
none
Best pair with 30+ launches+ Turn-Based Tactics, 169 launches
12 in 100

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Releases

Ticker: 30 upcoming games dated within 90 days, with wishlist rank, release date and followers. The same list is on the Upcoming page.