Do I ship it?

GamesAction RTSAction RTS + Dark Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Action RTS?

Action RTS + Dark Fantasy

Only 18 developers shipped a Dark-Fantasy Action RTS 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, Age of Darkness: Final Stand, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 51 more are announced, ×7.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×0.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 51 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.3 per shipper, while revenue is down 45% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 51 announced, ×7.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RTS + Dark Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $269 → $1.0k → $158k → $0 → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RTS + Dark Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,019)
Top 25% $2.3k (exactly $2,338)
Top 5% $8.0M (exactly $7,965,394)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 49
Announced 51
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 45% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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
Dark Fantasy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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 Base Building, RTS, Strategy
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 10,006 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 $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $7.9M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.3 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Age of Darkness: Final Stand $27.99 9,486 74% 285k $8.0M (exactly $7,965,394) PlaySide
Gord older $49.99 809 53% 24k $1.2M (exactly $1,213,257) Covenant.dev
Undead Horde 2: Necropolis older $16.99 447 83% 13k $228k (exactly $227,836) 10tons Ltd
The Hive older $19.99 299 71% 9.0k $179k (exactly $179,310) Skydome Entertainment
Spirit X Strike · EA $12.99 406 82% 12k $158k (exactly $158,218) MAICHA STUDIO
Epic Fantasy Battle Simulator · EA older $9.99 426 84% 13k $128k (exactly $127,672) Mutiny Software
Kingdom Wars 2: Definitive Edition older $9.99 348 66% 10k $104k (exactly $104,296) Reverie World Studios
Flow Of War $12.99 40 85% 1.2k $16k (exactly $15,588) Rongcon Games
The Rebellion · EA older $14.99 19 52% 570 $8.5k (exactly $8,544) Caz Game Design
Citor3 Hallucinations VR Adult XXX Game older $4.99 32 68% 960 $4.8k (exactly $4,790) Citor3
Skel Dungeon: Heroes Must Die! $8.99 11 54% 330 $3.0k (exactly $2,967) Buff Studio
Valdrax Beyond the Rift · EA $12.99 6 83% 180 $2.3k (exactly $2,338) Ganea Ion
Classic Tower Defense 2 $2.99 24 95% 720 $2.2k (exactly $2,153) Blacksmith Forge
Rough Rivals $5.99 10 100% 300 $1.8k (exactly $1,797) Constantin Roussel
Witch Way $2.99 16 81% 480 $1.4k (exactly $1,435) e-sheep
我的修仙世界My Xiuxian World $16.99 2 50% 60 $1.0k (exactly $1,019) CUI PU XING
Epic Pixel War $3.99 5 100% 150 $598 (exactly $598) evoloiduts

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