Do I ship it?

Games › Action RTS › Action RTS + Deckbuilding

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Deckbuilding Action RTS?

Action RTS + Deckbuilding

Only 13 developers shipped a Deckbuilding 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, Broken Arrow, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 32 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×2.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60; 1 in 20 cleared $38M, ×25953 the market median. Revenue is up 655% on the market; 32 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 655% on the market, 32 announced, ×5.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RTS + Deckbuilding
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.0k → $131k → $13k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RTS + Deckbuilding: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,997)
Top 25% $83k (exactly $83,317)
Top 5% $39M (exactly $38,878,223)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 25
Announced 32
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 655% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 28%, 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
Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Action RTS, Deckbuilding
Price point
$7.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 57% positive over 27,886 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 $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $83k, 1 in 20 over $38M.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action RTS with a different second tag, 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

Broken Arrow 2025 · $39M Rogue Command 2026 · $610k WARCANA 2024 · $226k Warlords Under Siege 2025 · $131k Forest Heroes 2025 · $83k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Broken Arrow $49.99 25,924 55% 778k $39M (exactly $38,878,223) Steel Balalaika
Rogue Command $19.99 1,018 89% 31k $610k (exactly $610,495) feneq
WARCANA older $16.99 443 62% 13k $226k (exactly $225,797) 1000 Orks
Warlords Under Siege $9.99 436 77% 13k $131k (exactly $130,669) RedKar Devs
Forest Heroes $9.99 278 83% 8.3k $83k (exactly $83,317) Hoochoo Game Studios
Red Rocket Defencism $7.99 172 98% 5.2k $41k (exactly $41,228) tiny cactus studio
Warena $9.99 42 52% 1.3k $13k (exactly $12,587) Part Time Monkey
Armor Clash 2022 [RTS] older $9.99 34 44% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) Windforce
Insectum - Epic Battles of Bugs $9.99 10 100% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) DevilishGames, Famosa by Giochi Preziosi
Robowars older $3.99 20 30% 600 $2.4k (exactly $2,394) N-Game Studios
Critterking $4.99 2 100% 60 $299 (exactly $299) SpiralKing, Palatabled
Loop Firefighters $2.99 3 33% 90 $269 (exactly $269) Darius games
Riverside Gals　/　大乱闘リバーサイドギャルズ $1.99 1 100% 30 $60 (exactly $60) 黒の御者団

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