Do I ship it?

Games › Action RTS › Action RTS + Medieval

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Medieval Action RTS?

Action RTS + Medieval

Of 57 developers who shipped a Medieval 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.. 124 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $660; 1 in 20 cleared $7.9M, ×5317 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 124 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 124 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RTS + Medieval
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 57
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $479 → $54k → $898 → $4.3k → $1.4k → $1.5k (still earning) → $13k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RTS + Medieval: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 57
Bottom 30% $659 (exactly $659)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,153)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $13,840)
Top 5% $8.0M (exactly $7,965,394)
Developers, 2 yr 57
Released games 122
Announced 124
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 40% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Medieval
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; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RTS, Base Building
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 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 $9.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 45,315 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $660, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $7.9M.

3 in 10 developers made under $660. 7 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 124 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 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

Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition 2021 · $87M Diplomacy is Not an Option 2024 · $9.8M Thronefall 2024 · $8.9M Age of Darkness: Final Stand 2025 · $8.0M Medieval Kingdom Wars 2019 · $1.0M
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)
Diplomacy is Not an Option $29.99 10,904 85% 327k $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) Door 407
Thronefall $12.99 22,966 96% 689k $8.9M (exactly $8,949,850) GrizzlyGames, Mythwright
Age of Darkness: Final Stand $27.99 9,486 74% 285k $8.0M (exactly $7,965,394) PlaySide
Medieval Kingdom Wars older $14.99 2,233 76% 67k $1.0M (exactly $1,004,180) Reverie World Studios
Godsworn · EA older $29.99 805 93% 24k $724k (exactly $724,258) Thunderoak Interactive
Ancient Wars: Sparta Definitive Edition · EA older $19.99 453 74% 14k $272k (exactly $271,664) JOTASOFT STUDIOS
Here Comes The Swarm · EA $19.99 358 84% 11k $215k (exactly $214,693) CableHook Games
Philna Fantasy $14.99 477 52% 14k $215k (exactly $214,507) Sailike Game
The Valiant older $24.99 209 61% 6.3k $157k (exactly $156,687) KITE Games
Warlords Under Siege $9.99 436 77% 13k $131k (exactly $130,669) RedKar Devs
Knights of the Crusades $19.99 166 69% 5.0k $100k (exactly $99,550) Reverie World Studios
BURGGEIST $12.00 260 97% 7.8k $94k (exactly $93,600) GHRIAN STUDIO
Toy Tactics $24.99 121 91% 3.6k $91k (exactly $90,714) Kraken Empire
Bellfortis $19.99 141 90% 4.2k $85k (exactly $84,558) Rake in Grass

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