Do I ship it?

Games › Action RTS › Action RTS + Aliens

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alien Action RTS?

Action RTS + Aliens

Of 20 developers who shipped an Alien Action 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.. 32 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $300, ×0.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 32 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper, while revenue is down 65% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 32 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RTS + Aliens
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: $899 → $9.2k → $2.2k → $90 → $0 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RTS + Aliens: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,242)
Top 5% $81k (exactly $80,973)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 47
Announced 32
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 65% on the market, supply 20% 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.

Action RTS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Aliens
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Action RTS; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RTS, Base Building, Strategy
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Isometric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 470 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 $300, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $80k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Auto BattlerFair24 devs · median $3.0k · 28 announced
  2. + FPSLong shot16 devs · median $899 · 21 announced
  3. + PuzzleLong shot16 devs · median $594 · 16 announced
  4. + Turn-Based StrategyPoor odds12 devs · median $85k · 16 announced
  5. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds9 devs · median $85k · 18 announced
  6. + Real-TimePoor odds12 devs · median $31k · 18 announced
  7. + HistoricalPoor odds26 devs · median $29k · 57 announced
  8. + Online Co-OpPoor odds25 devs · median $18k · 54 announced
  9. + SandboxPoor odds30 devs · median $13k · 50 announced
  10. + Procedural GenerationPoor odds22 devs · median $11k · 51 announced
  11. + Grand StrategyPoor odds25 devs · median $7.5k · 41 announced
  12. + 4XPoor odds10 devs · median $7.2k · 23 announced

All 89 pairs on the Action RTS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars™ 2009 · $1.8M No Creeps Were Harmed TD 2024 · $281k The Hive 2016 · $179k Five Nations 2021 · $151k Swarm Queen 2017 · $86k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars™ older $6.96 8,777 89% 263k $1.8M (exactly $1,832,638) EA Los Angeles
No Creeps Were Harmed TD older $19.99 468 88% 14k $281k (exactly $280,660) MinMax Games Ltd.
The Hive older $19.99 299 71% 9.0k $179k (exactly $179,310) Skydome Entertainment
Five Nations older $19.99 251 81% 7.5k $151k (exactly $150,525) SilverForge
Swarm Queen older $7.49 384 94% 12k $86k (exactly $86,285) Helmi Bastami (Flyborg.net)
KallaX older $9.99 278 84% 8.3k $83k (exactly $83,317) Unexpected
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
Moduwar · EA $14.99 134 88% 4.0k $60k (exactly $60,260) Biohex Studios
WARSHIFT 2 $19.99 54 70% 1.6k $32k (exactly $32,384) Cyril Megem
Fleetbreakers · EA $14.99 25 96% 750 $11k (exactly $11,242) Last Keep
Grimstar: Crystals are the New Oil! $12.99 16 68% 480 $6.2k (exactly $6,235) SvenRahn Games
Goddess Scroll - The Last Starlight $9.99 11 27% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Revenge Red Eyes
Ant Guardians · EA $3.99 18 83% 540 $2.2k (exactly $2,155) NotThisTime
Space Alliance: Frontier $6.99 7 57% 210 $1.5k (exactly $1,468) Black Lime Studio
EndlessRain · EA $4.99 2 100% 60 $299 (exactly $299) airnuri

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