Do I ship it?

Games4X4X + Tabletop

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tabletop 4X?

4X + Tabletop

Only 10 developers shipped a Tabletop 4X 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, Shields of Loyalty, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 11 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×1.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $83k, ×56 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 11 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 11 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
4X + Tabletop
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 10

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for 4X + Tabletop: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 10
Bottom 30% $1.9k (exactly $1,948)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,516)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,195)
Top 5% $84k (exactly $83,958)
Developers, 2 yr 10
Released games 26
Announced 11
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $12.99

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 40% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

4X
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Tabletop
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
4X, Tabletop
Price point
$12.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 9 games average 84% positive over 305 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.0k, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $83k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 11 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

4X with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + CombatFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  2. + Colony SimPoor odds23 devs · median $314k · 77 announced
  3. + Turn-BasedPoor odds16 devs · median $193k · 26 announced
  4. + SandboxPoor odds36 devs · median $193k · 76 announced
  5. + DiplomacyPoor odds29 devs · median $86k · 79 announced
  6. + SurvivalPoor odds21 devs · median $72k · 40 announced
  7. + HistoricalPoor odds49 devs · median $61k · 75 announced
  8. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds21 devs · median $61k · 36 announced
  9. + RPGPoor odds26 devs · median $54k · 56 announced
  10. + BuildingPoor odds52 devs · median $34k · 112 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds8 devs · median $34k · 21 announced
  12. + Strategy RPGPoor odds15 devs · median $31k · 33 announced

All 63 pairs on the 4X page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Scythe: Digital Edition older $19.99 3,164 89% 95k $1.9M (exactly $1,897,451) The Knights of Unity
As Far As The Eye older $24.99 1,640 73% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,508) Unexpected
A Game of Thrones: The Board Game - Digital Edition older $19.99 1,705 71% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,022,488) Dire Wolf
Nexus 5X older $14.99 884 90% 27k $398k (exactly $397,535) Whatboy Games
WitchHand older $11.99 616 90% 18k $222k (exactly $221,575) Jon Nielsen
Shields of Loyalty $19.99 140 77% 4.2k $84k (exactly $83,958) Mosaic Mask Studio
Space Imperia 4X $22.99 70 92% 2.1k $48k (exactly $48,279) Breich Games
Areteion $19.99 17 94% 510 $10k (exactly $10,195) juxtapositioned
⁤Square Wars · EA $4.99 43 79% 1.3k $6.4k (exactly $6,437) Gökhan Birçek
Rush for the Ages older $5.99 32 81% 960 $5.8k (exactly $5,750) PUNKCAKE Delicieux
Tree Kingdoms $5.99 14 100% 420 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) Biscuit Factory Games
Haulin' Oats $9.99 7 100% 210 $2.1k (exactly $2,098) Gramps Games
LouveSystems' Realms $12.99 5 100% 150 $1.9k (exactly $1,948) LouveSystems
OrbHand $2.99 8 100% 240 $718 (exactly $718) Jesus Rugarcia
Imperial Wager: The Shattered Crown of Augustus $19.99 1 0% 30 $600 (exactly $600) Ke Zhou
WarBoard: Arena Empire $0.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Velron Games

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