Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + Action-Adventure

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Action-Adventure RTS?

RTS + Action-Adventure

Of 38 developers who shipped an Action-Adventure 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.. 86 more are announced, ×5.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $980, ×0.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60. 86 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.4 per shipper, while revenue is down 20% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 86 announced, ×5.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Action-Adventure
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $119 → $898 → $4.2k → $11k → $980 → $1.3k → $20k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Action-Adventure: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $980 (exactly $980)
Top 25% $52k (exactly $52,220)
Top 5% $1.7M (exactly $1,679,740)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 153
Announced 86
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 down 20% on the market, supply 30% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
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
RTS, Action-Adventure; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, Real Time Tactics
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Top-Down, Isometric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 7,465 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $980, 1 in 4 over $52k, 1 in 20 over $1.6M.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 86 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.4 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

Aliens: Dark Descent 2023 · $18M Brutal Legend 2013 · $5.1M Carrier Command 2 2021 · $3.1M Commandos: Origins 2025 · $2.8M Miasma Chronicles 2023 · $2.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Aliens: Dark Descent older $39.99 15,310 87% 459k $18M (exactly $18,367,407) Tindalos Interactive
Brutal Legend older $14.99 11,365 94% 341k $5.1M (exactly $5,110,840) Double Fine Productions
Carrier Command 2 older $29.99 3,444 82% 103k $3.1M (exactly $3,098,567) Geometa
Commandos: Origins $49.99 1,844 79% 55k $2.8M (exactly $2,765,447) Claymore Game Studios
Miasma Chronicles older $34.99 2,013 79% 60k $2.1M (exactly $2,113,046) The Bearded Ladies
Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure $29.99 1,867 82% 56k $1.7M (exactly $1,679,740) Massive Miniteam
Gord older $49.99 809 53% 24k $1.2M (exactly $1,213,257) Covenant.dev
Overlord II older $9.99 4,002 89% 120k $1.2M (exactly $1,199,399) Triumph Studios
Demon Lord: Just a Block $12.99 2,065 96% 62k $805k (exactly $804,730) YuWave
Overlord™ older $4.99 5,007 94% 150k $750k (exactly $749,548) Triumph Studios
Trench Lord: Eastern Front $11.99 774 83% 23k $278k (exactly $278,408) Tracer Studio, LING YUN CO.,LTD.
PROHIBEAST $34.99 121 57% 3.6k $127k (exactly $127,014) SUPER AC
Worship · EA $19.99 197 77% 5.9k $118k (exactly $118,141) Chasing Rats Games
BURGGEIST $12.00 260 97% 7.8k $94k (exactly $93,600) GHRIAN STUDIO
Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids $29.99 90 83% 2.7k $81k (exactly $80,973) Snapshot Games Inc.
Artificial Extinction 2 $19.99 113 77% 3.4k $68k (exactly $67,766) 100Hr Games Inc
XiuzhenWorld2 $12.99 134 67% 4.0k $52k (exactly $52,220) Noforgetit

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