Do I ship it?

Games › Action RTS › Action RTS + Grand Strategy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Action RTS Grand Strategy?

Action RTS + Grand Strategy

Of 25 developers who shipped an Action RTS Grand Strategy 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.. 41 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $7.5k, ×5.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×930 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 41 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 41 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RTS + Grand Strategy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $1.8k → $54k → $3.4k → $110k → $13k → $7.5k (still earning) → $29k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RTS + Grand Strategy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $1.9k (exactly $1,915)
Median $7.5k (exactly $7,485)
Top 25% $100k (exactly $99,550)
Top 5% $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 61
Announced 41
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $12.99

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 80% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Grand Strategy
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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, Grand Strategy; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RTS, Strategy, Real Time Tactics
Price point
$12.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 15,155 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.0k, median $7.5k, 1 in 4 over $99k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 6 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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. + 4XPoor odds10 devs · median $7.2k · 23 announced
  12. + CraftingPoor odds19 devs · median $7.2k · 35 announced

All 89 pairs on the Action RTS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition 2025 · $11M Total Conflict: Resistance 2023 · EA · $4.6M ZeroSpace 2026 · EA · $1.4M Medieval Kingdom Wars 2019 · $1.0M Line War 2022 · $807k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition $29.99 12,286 85% 369k $11M (exactly $11,053,714) Relic Entertainment
Total Conflict: Resistance · EA older $29.99 5,089 74% 153k $4.6M (exactly $4,578,573) Thunder Devs.
ZeroSpace · EA $39.99 1,161 78% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852) Starlance Studios, Ironward
Medieval Kingdom Wars older $14.99 2,233 76% 67k $1.0M (exactly $1,004,180) Reverie World Studios
Line War older $24.99 1,076 80% 32k $807k (exactly $806,677) Studio Centurion
Task Force Admiral - Vol.1: American Carrier Battles · EA $39.99 633 87% 19k $759k (exactly $759,410) Drydock Dreams Games
Home Wars older $9.99 1,141 78% 34k $342k (exactly $341,958) Insane Dreamers
Attack on Toys · EA older $6.99 1,158 93% 35k $243k (exactly $242,833) N7T-GAMES
Armored Brigade II $39.99 147 87% 4.4k $176k (exactly $176,356) Veitikka Studios
Victory at Sea Atlantic - World War II Naval Warfare $39.99 92 60% 2.8k $110k (exactly $110,372) Evil Twin Artworks
Circle Empires 2 $12.99 266 72% 8.0k $104k (exactly $103,660) Luminous
Knights of the Crusades $19.99 166 69% 5.0k $100k (exactly $99,550) Reverie World Studios
Bellfortis $19.99 141 90% 4.2k $85k (exactly $84,558) Rake in Grass
Repterra $19.99 122 90% 3.7k $73k (exactly $73,163) Chute Apps
Nations · EA $14.99 141 89% 4.2k $63k (exactly $63,408) Krzysztof Steiner

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