Do I ship it?

Games › Action RTS › Action RTS + Exploration

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Exploration Action RTS?

Action RTS + Exploration

Of 37 developers who shipped an Exploration 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.. 65 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×1.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $540k, ×366 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 65 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 65 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RTS + Exploration
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 37
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.9k → $1.8k → $599 → $1.5k → $1.6k → $11k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RTS + Exploration: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 37
Bottom 30% $390 (exactly $390)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,648)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $19,782)
Top 5% $549k (exactly $548,634)
Developers, 2 yr 37
Released games 97
Announced 65
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.90

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 95% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Exploration
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, Exploration; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, RTS
Price point
$9.90 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.90.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 4,945 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $390, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $19k, 1 in 20 over $540k.

3 in 10 developers made under $390. 9 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 65 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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

下一站江湖Ⅱ 2024 · $6.4M ERA ONE 2025 · EA · $1.4M Kingdom Eighties 2023 · $1.1M Tower Factory 2024 · EA · $549k Machine Mind 2026 · $340k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
下一站江湖Ⅱ older $24.99 8,507 72% 255k $6.4M (exactly $6,377,698) 白玉京工作室
ERA ONE · EA $29.99 1,575 86% 47k $1.4M (exactly $1,417,028) Team Complex LTD
Kingdom Eighties older $11.99 3,001 75% 90k $1.1M (exactly $1,079,460) Fury Studios
Tower Factory · EA $14.99 1,220 89% 37k $549k (exactly $548,634) Gius Caminiti
Machine Mind $19.99 567 71% 17k $340k (exactly $340,030) Chudo-Yudo Games
Rise of Piracy · EA $15.99 520 77% 16k $249k (exactly $249,444) IrishJohnGames
Here Comes The Swarm · EA $19.99 358 84% 11k $215k (exactly $214,693) CableHook Games
Stargate: Timekeepers older $29.99 198 60% 5.9k $178k (exactly $178,141) Slitherine Ltd.
TDS - Tower Defense Strategy $17.99 315 81% 9.5k $170k (exactly $170,005) Blockage
Anno 1602 History Edition older $9.99 278 78% 8.3k $83k (exactly $83,317) Ubisoft Mainz
Colonize $9.99 192 39% 5.8k $58k (exactly $57,542) Rembrosoft
Siren's Well $24.99 62 66% 1.9k $46k (exactly $46,481) OneManOnly Studios
Stellarcraft $9.99 76 88% 2.3k $23k (exactly $22,777) DreamStudios, Sandstorm in a Bottle
DeTechtive 2112 $10.99 60 46% 1.8k $20k (exactly $19,782) M11 Studio

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