Do I ship it?

Games › Action RTS › Action RTS + Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Management Action RTS?

Action RTS + Management

Of 49 developers who shipped a Management 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.. 109 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $750k, ×507 the market median. Revenue is up 210% on the market; 109 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 210% on the market, 109 announced, ×4.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RTS + Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 49
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $1.6k → $418 → $1.8k → $1.5k → $2.1k → $12k (still earning) → $2.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RTS + Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 49
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,097)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $13,840)
Top 5% $759k (exactly $759,410)
Developers, 2 yr 49
Released games 130
Announced 109
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 210% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Management
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, Management; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RTS, Strategy, Base Building
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 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 $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 6,557 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $750k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 109 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 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. + 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

Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition 2021 · $87M EverSiege: Untold Ages 2026 · $1.1M The Scouring 2025 · EA · $852k Task Force Admiral - Vol.1: American Carrier Battles 2026 · EA · $759k 9-Bit Armies: A Bit Too Far 2024 · $566k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition older $39.99 72,275 85% 2.2M $87M (exactly $86,708,318) World's Edge, Relic Entertainment, Forg… (World's Edge, Relic Entertainment, Forgotten Empires, Climax Studios)
EverSiege: Untold Ages $19.99 1,906 68% 57k $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028) Tindalos Interactive
The Scouring · EA $24.99 1,136 88% 34k $852k (exactly $851,659) Orc Group
Task Force Admiral - Vol.1: American Carrier Battles · EA $39.99 633 87% 19k $759k (exactly $759,410) Drydock Dreams Games
9-Bit Armies: A Bit Too Far older $19.99 944 80% 28k $566k (exactly $566,117) Petroglyph
Tower Factory · EA $14.99 1,220 89% 37k $549k (exactly $548,634) Gius Caminiti
Calyx · EA $24.99 471 88% 14k $353k (exactly $353,109) Studio 568
Northend Tower Defense older $7.99 1,309 75% 39k $314k (exactly $313,767) Northend Games
Attack on Toys · EA older $6.99 1,158 93% 35k $243k (exactly $242,833) N7T-GAMES
Leave No One Behind: Ia Drang older $24.99 299 40% 9.0k $224k (exactly $224,160) Gaming 301
Here Comes The Swarm · EA $19.99 358 84% 11k $215k (exactly $214,693) CableHook Games
TDS - Tower Defense Strategy $17.99 315 81% 9.5k $170k (exactly $170,005) Blockage
Victory at Sea Atlantic - World War II Naval Warfare $39.99 92 60% 2.8k $110k (exactly $110,372) Evil Twin Artworks
Welcome Back, Commander $14.99 230 80% 6.9k $103k (exactly $103,431) S.C. 16 BIT NIGHTS S.R.L.
D.O.T. Defence $14.99 196 85% 5.9k $88k (exactly $88,141) Rattleaxe Games

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