Do I ship it?

Games › Action RTS › Action RTS + Simulation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Simulation Action RTS?

Action RTS + Simulation

Of 80 developers who shipped a Simulation 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.. 129 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×1.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $1.8M, ×1218 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 129 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 129 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RTS + Simulation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 80
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $807 → $67k → $3.0k → $13k → $1.4k → $1.9k (still earning) → $899 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RTS + Simulation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 80
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,338)
Top 25% $41k (exactly $40,509)
Top 5% $1.8M (exactly $1,824,433)
Developers, 2 yr 80
Released games 187
Announced 129
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.99

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 55% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Simulation
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, Simulation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RTS, Real Time Tactics
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 76,091 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 $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $40k, 1 in 20 over $1.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 54 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 129 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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

REMATCH 2025 · $36M Diplomacy is Not an Option 2024 · $9.8M Mechabellum 2024 · $8.0M Total Conflict: Resistance 2023 · EA · $4.6M The Battle of Polytopia 2020 · $2.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
REMATCH $29.99 39,905 70% 1.2M $36M (exactly $35,902,528) Sloclap
Diplomacy is Not an Option $29.99 10,904 85% 327k $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) Door 407
Mechabellum $14.99 17,856 84% 536k $8.0M (exactly $8,029,843) Game River
Total Conflict: Resistance · EA older $29.99 5,089 74% 153k $4.6M (exactly $4,578,573) Thunder Devs.
The Battle of Polytopia older $14.99 4,731 94% 142k $2.1M (exactly $2,127,531) Midjiwan AB
Rising Front $14.99 4,057 88% 122k $1.8M (exactly $1,824,433) Sandstorm Studios Inc.
Medieval Kingdom Wars older $14.99 2,233 76% 67k $1.0M (exactly $1,004,180) Reverie World Studios
The Lost Village older $11.99 2,743 70% 82k $987k (exactly $986,657) FunYoo Games
Task Force Admiral - Vol.1: American Carrier Battles · EA $39.99 633 87% 19k $759k (exactly $759,410) Drydock Dreams Games
From Glory To Goo · EA older $11.99 1,794 96% 54k $645k (exactly $645,302) Stratagem Blue
Tower Factory · EA $14.99 1,220 89% 37k $549k (exactly $548,634) Gius Caminiti
Darfall $24.99 491 71% 15k $368k (exactly $368,103) SquareNite
Rise of Piracy · EA $15.99 520 77% 16k $249k (exactly $249,444) IrishJohnGames
Here Comes The Swarm · EA $19.99 358 84% 11k $215k (exactly $214,693) CableHook Games
Armored Brigade II $39.99 147 87% 4.4k $176k (exactly $176,356) Veitikka Studios

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