Do I ship it?

Games › Action RTS › Action RTS + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up Action RTS?

Action RTS + Shoot 'Em Up

Only 4 developers shipped a Shoot 'Em Up Action RTS in the last 2 years. Over 4 years, 12 did: 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.. 14 more are announced, ×7.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

Only 2 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $480 against a market of $1.5k. 14 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 14 announced, ×7.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RTS + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 4 yr n = 12

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Action RTS + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 4 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Top 25% $3.4k (exactly $3,414)
Top 5% $63k (exactly $62,536)
Developers, 4 yr 12
Released games 26
Announced 14
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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, Shoot 'Em Up
Price point
$6.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 4 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 606 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 4 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $3.4k, 1 in 20 over $62k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 14 games are announced against 2 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.0 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

Frontline Crisis 2024 · $63k Space Raiders in Space 2020 · $22k Agent in Depth 2024 · $9.7k Devader 2019 · $7.7k Agent 01 2022 · $4.8k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Frontline Crisis older $5.99 348 87% 10k $63k (exactly $62,536) BCQT
Space Raiders in Space older $9.99 75 93% 2.3k $22k (exactly $22,478) Apollo Interactive S.L.
Agent in Depth older $2.99 108 93% 3.2k $9.7k (exactly $9,688) Naturepixel Studios, SkyBrave
Devader older $7.99 32 93% 960 $7.7k (exactly $7,670) Falkenbrew
Agent 01 older $19.99 8 75% 240 $4.8k (exactly $4,798) GamesBraz
Saturn Quest: R. U. N. E. 3000 older $5.99 19 78% 570 $3.4k (exactly $3,414) Arkhouse Telegraph
The Killer older $19.99 5 60% 150 $3.0k (exactly $2,998) GamesBraz
Military Attack older $19.99 4 0% 120 $2.4k (exactly $2,399) GamesBraz
Battlegrounds : At Enemy Gates older $19.99 3 33% 90 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) SmartOliveGames Ltd
Xeno Rangers $11.99 4 100% 120 $1.4k (exactly $1,439) 9000 Legends
Iron Skies $7.99 2 50% 60 $479 (exactly $479) Matthew Lalande
Skirmish Mayhem $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Netherbell
3096 $3.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Hector Hedgecoat Industries

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