Games › Action RTS › Action RTS + Modern
Should I ship a Modern-Day Action RTS?
Action RTS + Modern
Only 13 developers shipped a Modern-Day 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.. 11 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $990, ×0.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270. Revenue is down 95% on the market, with 11 games announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $989 (exactly $989) |
| Top 25% | $33k (exactly $32,735) |
| Top 5% | $39M (exactly $38,878,223) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 28 |
| Announced | 11 |
| 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 down 95% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Modern
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Action RTS
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 64% positive over 35,978 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 11 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Action RTS with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + FPSLong shot
- + PuzzleLong shot
- + Turn-Based StrategyPoor odds
- + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Procedural GenerationPoor odds
- + Grand StrategyPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
Comparable games
Broken Arrow 2025 · $39M 
Tempest Rising 2025 · $12M 
Fire Commander 2022 · $146k 
Red Chaos - The Strict Order 2025 · EA · $43k 
Drill Deal – Oil Tycoon 2022 · $36k | 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 | |
| | Tempest Rising | $39.99 | 9,811 87% | 294k | $12M (exactly $11,770,257) | Slipgate Ironworks™ | |
| | Fire Commander | older | $14.99 | 325 66% | 9.8k | $146k (exactly $146,152) | Atomic Wolf, Pixel Crow Games |
| | Red Chaos - The Strict Order | · EA | $17.99 | 79 81% | 2.4k | $43k (exactly $42,636) | Squarecut Games |
| | Drill Deal – Oil Tycoon | older | $14.99 | 80 82% | 2.4k | $36k (exactly $35,976) | · |
 | DRONE PERSPECTIVE | · EA | $12.99 | 84 88% | 2.5k | $33k (exactly $32,735) | Demetri Lind |
 | Car Factory Empire | · EA | $8.99 | 48 56% | 1.4k | $13k (exactly $12,946) | RDS Games |
 | Hell of Men : Blood Brothers | older | $15.99 | 18 72% | 540 | $8.6k (exactly $8,635) | Whacky Squad Studio, 10Loups Games |
 | Para Bellum - Hold the Line | older | $17.99 | 12 91% | 360 | $6.5k (exactly $6,476) | Laukaus Games |
 | Forward Defense | · EA older | $6.99 | 16 68% | 480 | $3.4k (exactly $3,355) | Pinpoint Interactive |
 | Territorial Conquest | $4.99 | 22 50% | 660 | $3.3k (exactly $3,293) | Uğur CAN | |
 | Zombocalypse Now! | $10.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $989 (exactly $989) | Pixel Drip Games | |
 | Platoon | $9.99 | 3 33% | 90 | $899 (exactly $899) | Phalanx Tactical | |
 | Empyrean Defense | · EA | $9.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $300 (exactly $300) | Nighthawk Studios |
 | Air Fleet | $2.99 | 3 0% | 90 | $269 (exactly $269) | River Way Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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