Do I ship it?

GamesActionAction + Rome

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roman Action game?

Action + Rome

Of 20 developers who shipped a Roman Action game 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.. 44 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×5.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $450k, ×731 the market median. Revenue is up 130% on the market; 44 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 130% on the market, 44 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Rome
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $11k → $3.6k → $449 → $4.6k (still earning) → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Rome: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,242)
Top 5% $459k (exactly $458,816)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 77
Announced 44
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 130% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Rome
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action RPG, 3D Fighter, Combat
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Nonlinear
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 1,401 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $450k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair25 devs · median $14k · 30 announced
  3. + PinballFair42 devs · median $2.6k · 48 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair43 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  5. + Football (American)Fair16 devs · median $1.3k · 6 announced
  6. + BaseballFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  7. + BilliardsFair19 devs · median $958 · 25 announced
  8. + IdlerFair225 devs · median $898 · 292 announced
  9. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  11. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  12. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition older $29.99 54,547 87% 1.6M $49M (exactly $49,075,936) CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive
Total War: ATTILA older $19.99 26,918 82% 808k $16M (exactly $16,142,725) CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive
Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood older $19.99 24,958 88% 749k $15M (exactly $14,967,313) Ubisoft Montreal
Ryse: Son of Rome older $9.99 38,308 87% 1.1M $11M (exactly $11,480,908) Crytek
Total War: ROME REMASTERED older $29.99 12,627 77% 379k $11M (exactly $11,360,512) Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive
We Who Are About To Die · EA older $21.99 8,134 88% 244k $5.4M (exactly $5,366,000) Jordy Lakiere
Shieldwall older $17.99 7,148 86% 214k $3.9M (exactly $3,857,776) Nezon Production
Total War: PHARAOH older $29.99 3,622 63% 109k $3.3M (exactly $3,258,713) CREATIVE ASSEMBLY
Asterigos: Curse of the Stars older $34.99 2,550 78% 77k $2.7M (exactly $2,676,735) Acme Gamestudio
Warlord: Britannia older $19.99 1,890 88% 57k $1.1M (exactly $1,133,433) Darkmatter Games
Ludus Magnatus: Gladiator Manager Simulator · EA $24.99 612 81% 18k $459k (exactly $458,816) Contec Games
Summa Expeditionis $19.99 305 68% 9.2k $183k (exactly $182,908) Lobico Games
Trakonius · EA $9.99 305 84% 9.2k $91k (exactly $91,408) Edvar Studio
Rise of a Legend · EA $17.99 49 77% 1.5k $26k (exactly $26,445) Masquarade, Nicholas St. Germain
Reavers of New Rome $14.99 25 96% 750 $11k (exactly $11,242) Renegade Sector Games
Ovidius (Blood for Love) $6.99 31 67% 930 $6.5k (exactly $6,501) Narrator Studio
Catechumen $9.99 16 87% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) N'Lightning Software Development, Jorda… (N'Lightning Software Development, Jordan Freeman Group)
BRUTUS MAXIMUS $4.99 31 64% 930 $4.6k (exactly $4,641) SuperStructureGames
Smerch Battle Arena · EA $9.99 12 91% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Smerch Games
CRIXUS: Life of free Gladiator $7.99 15 46% 450 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Waseku

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