Do I ship it?

Games › Grand Strategy › Grand Strategy + Action-Adventure

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Action-Adventure Grand Strategy?

Grand Strategy + Action-Adventure

Of 22 developers who shipped an Action-Adventure Grand Strategy 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.. 24 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 $1.1k, ×0.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $10k, ×7.2 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 24 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 24 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grand Strategy + Action-Adventure
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $898 → $419 → $1.3k → $1.1k → $3.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grand Strategy + Action-Adventure: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Top 25% $3.3k (exactly $3,297)
Top 5% $11k (exactly $10,796)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 70
Announced 24
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 35% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Grand Strategy
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Action-Adventure
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Grand Strategy, Action-Adventure; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Third Person, 2.5D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 64% positive over 843 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 $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $10k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RoguelikeFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  2. + SportsFair21 devs · median $2.1k · 26 announced
  3. + RogueliteFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  4. + CrimeFair8 devs · median $1.9k · 13 announced
  5. + RacingFair8 devs · median $1.8k · 7 announced
  6. + IncrementalFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 27 announced
  7. + Artificial IntelligenceLong shot21 devs · median $750 · 38 announced
  8. + TabletopLong shot26 devs · median $450 · 26 announced
  9. + Turn-BasedPoor odds19 devs · median $131k · 20 announced
  10. + SandboxPoor odds59 devs · median $51k · 125 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds15 devs · median $37k · 29 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds54 devs · median $34k · 117 announced

All 104 pairs on the Grand Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Carrier Command 2 2021 · $3.1M Huaxia: Warring States 2026 · EA · $420k Timemelters 2024 · $91k Lost Angel 2021 · $26k We Need To Cook - Drug Empire Simulator 2023 · $13k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Carrier Command 2 older $29.99 3,444 82% 103k $3.1M (exactly $3,098,567) Geometa
Huaxia: Warring States · EA $19.99 701 61% 21k $420k (exactly $420,390) 秦川汉渚
Timemelters older $19.99 152 92% 4.6k $91k (exactly $91,154) Autoexec Games
Lost Angel older $19.99 43 58% 1.3k $26k (exactly $25,787) Dolphin media, Intofeel Company
We Need To Cook - Drug Empire Simulator older $4.99 84 58% 2.5k $13k (exactly $12,575) Harold Crow
Desert Special Forces older $19.99 20 65% 600 $12k (exactly $11,994) Gamesforgames
EmberStride $29.99 12 91% 360 $11k (exactly $10,796) Sharkgame
Augmented Empire $7.99 25 88% 750 $6.0k (exactly $5,992) Coatsink
BannerBound · EA $12.99 15 73% 450 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Cosmic noise
Bastionforge $9.99 17 76% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) Gamesforgames
Restart Mode $9.99 16 81% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Gamesforgames
Climber Girl $7.99 19 36% 570 $4.6k (exactly $4,554) AlterLab Development
Survalker $9.99 14 85% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Gamesforgames
Happy Piggy $9.99 13 100% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) Gamesforgames
Maniac Path 4 $9.99 11 100% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Gamesforgames

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