Do I ship it?

Games › PvP › PvP + Action RTS

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvP Action RTS?

PvP + Action RTS

Of 64 developers who shipped a PvP 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.. 161 more are announced, ×5.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×1.7 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $11M, ×7379 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 161 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 50% on the market, 161 announced, ×5.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvP + Action RTS
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 64
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $478 → $3.0k → $17k → $1.8k → $899 → $8.6k → $2.4k (still earning) → $10k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvP + Action RTS: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 64
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,545)
Top 25% $54k (exactly $53,514)
Top 5% $11M (exactly $11,053,714)
Developers, 2 yr 64
Released games 178
Announced 161
Effort 8 / 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 50% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 32%, 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.

PvP
effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
Action RTS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
PvP, Action RTS; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RTS, Strategy, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
8 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 $9.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 110,815 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $53k, 1 in 20 over $11M.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 161 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

PvP with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + BaseballFair6 devs · median $7.6k · 9 announced
  2. + TransportationFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + BasketballFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  4. + Football (American)Fair17 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  5. + BikesFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  6. + GolfFair29 devs · median $1.4k · 34 announced
  7. + World War IFair12 devs · median $1.3k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair36 devs · median $1.2k · 48 announced
  9. + BilliardsFair18 devs · median $1.1k · 12 announced
  10. + TennisLong shot17 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  11. + TypingLong shot28 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  12. + SpellingLong shot14 devs · median $719 · 17 announced

All 247 pairs on the PvP page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition 2021 · $87M Company of Heroes 3 2023 · $44M Broken Arrow 2025 · $39M REMATCH 2025 · $36M Age of Mythology: Retold 2024 · $19M
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)
Company of Heroes 3 older $59.99 24,516 59% 735k $44M (exactly $44,121,445) Relic Entertainment
Broken Arrow $49.99 25,924 55% 778k $39M (exactly $38,878,223) Steel Balalaika
REMATCH $29.99 39,905 70% 1.2M $36M (exactly $35,902,528) Sloclap
Age of Mythology: Retold older $29.99 20,943 90% 628k $19M (exactly $18,842,417) World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantal… (World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, CaptureAge, Virtuos Games)
Tempest Rising $39.99 9,811 87% 294k $12M (exactly $11,770,257) Slipgate Ironworks™
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition $29.99 12,286 85% 369k $11M (exactly $11,053,714) Relic Entertainment
Mechabellum $14.99 17,856 84% 536k $8.0M (exactly $8,029,843) Game River
Cossacks 3 older $19.99 12,406 82% 372k $7.4M (exactly $7,439,878) GSC Game World
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin older $59.99 1,867 55% 56k $3.4M (exactly $3,360,040) Frontier Developments
ERA ONE · EA $29.99 1,575 86% 47k $1.4M (exactly $1,417,028) Team Complex LTD
ZeroSpace · EA $39.99 1,161 78% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852) Starlance Studios, Ironward
Sudden Strike 5 $49.99 641 75% 19k $961k (exactly $961,308) Kite Games
The Scouring · EA $24.99 1,136 88% 34k $852k (exactly $851,659) Orc Group
Rise of Piracy · EA $15.99 520 77% 16k $249k (exactly $249,444) IrishJohnGames

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