Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + 3D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 3D Platformer RTS?

RTS + 3D Platformer

Of 34 developers who shipped a 3D Platformer RTS 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.. 38 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $60 in the last 2 years and $60 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 14 developers shipped in the last year and 38 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 530% on the market, 38 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + 3D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $30 → $479 → $599 → $119 → $0 → $0 → $210 (still earning) → $30 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + 3D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $60 (exactly $60)
Top 25% $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Top 5% $53k (exactly $53,236)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 109
Announced 38
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 530% on the market, supply 30% fewer 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

RTS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
3D Platformer
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
RTS, 3D Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Real Time Tactics, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 858 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $60, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $53k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

RTS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomeFair12 devs · median $64k · 13 announced
  2. + Outbreak SimFair16 devs · median $2.6k · 14 announced
  3. + HorrorFair20 devs · median $2.4k · 27 announced
  4. + NavalFair15 devs · median $2.4k · 21 announced
  5. + TabletopFair25 devs · median $1.9k · 33 announced
  6. + SportsLong shot19 devs · median $861 · 9 announced
  7. + PuzzleLong shot48 devs · median $479 · 40 announced
  8. + World War IIPoor odds23 devs · median $105k · 38 announced
  9. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds28 devs · median $64k · 41 announced
  10. + Open WorldPoor odds45 devs · median $35k · 100 announced
  11. + Colony SimPoor odds87 devs · median $31k · 159 announced
  12. + HistoricalPoor odds108 devs · median $30k · 180 announced

All 149 pairs on the RTS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Citadels 2013 · $169k BURGGEIST 2024 · $94k NAMAKORIUM (ナマコリウム) 2026 · $53k XiuzhenWorld2 2024 · $52k OTTTD 2014 · $46k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Citadels older $14.99 375 13% 11k $169k (exactly $168,638) Games Distillery s.r.o.
BURGGEIST $12.00 260 97% 7.8k $94k (exactly $93,600) GHRIAN STUDIO
NAMAKORIUM (ナマコリウム) $11.99 148 93% 4.4k $53k (exactly $53,236) Polyscape Inc.
XiuzhenWorld2 $12.99 134 67% 4.0k $52k (exactly $52,220) Noforgetit
OTTTD older $7.99 190 78% 5.7k $46k (exactly $45,543) SMG Studio
Dice Tavern: Farkle Roguelike $9.99 112 90% 3.4k $34k (exactly $33,566) Cavi Studio
Last Stand: Defense $5.99 116 81% 3.5k $21k (exactly $20,845) ZiiTech Games
Desert Special Forces older $19.99 20 65% 600 $12k (exactly $11,994) Gamesforgames
Planet TD older $2.99 124 73% 3.7k $11k (exactly $11,123) MD Games
Age of Jura older $9.99 35 74% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Mystic ERA games
Pocket and Zooom $15.99 16 75% 480 $7.7k (exactly $7,675) TechnoBrain
Soul•Apocalypto $11.99 20 80% 600 $7.2k (exactly $7,194) 卜乙冈(Ploygon)
Dark Erosion: Endless Siege $6.99 15 80% 450 $3.1k (exactly $3,146) LaoLiang
高球王者 GolfKings $11.99 4 75% 120 $1.4k (exactly $1,439) 小如文化
Only Down: Gravitation Up $0.99 33 96% 990 $980 (exactly $980) Gamesforfarm, Piece Of Voxel

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