Do I ship it?

Games › Action RTS › Action RTS + Strategy RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Strategy RPG Action RTS?

Action RTS + Strategy RPG

Of 27 developers who shipped a Strategy RPG 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.. 74 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 $780, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240. 74 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper, while revenue is up 515% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 515% on the market, 74 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RTS + Strategy RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $8.6k → $1.8k → $179 → $239 → $2.1k (still earning) → $772k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RTS + Strategy RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $779 (exactly $779)
Top 25% $32k (exactly $32,384)
Top 5% $5.8M (exactly $5,822,144)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 78
Announced 74
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 515% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Strategy RPG
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, Strategy RPG; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, PvE, RPG
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Isometric, Cinematic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 28,093 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $780, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $5.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 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

STAR WARS Zero Company™ 2026 · $29M Xenonauts 2 2026 · $5.8M ZeroSpace 2026 · EA · $1.4M The Scouring 2025 · EA · $852k SpellForce 3 Fallen God 2020 · $801k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
STAR WARS Zero Company™ $49.99 19,521 82% 586k $29M (exactly $29,275,644) Bit Reactor
Xenonauts 2 $39.99 4,853 81% 146k $5.8M (exactly $5,822,144) Goldhawk Interactive
ZeroSpace · EA $39.99 1,161 78% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852) Starlance Studios, Ironward
The Scouring · EA $24.99 1,136 88% 34k $852k (exactly $851,659) Orc Group
SpellForce 3 Fallen God older $19.99 1,335 86% 40k $801k (exactly $800,599) Grimlore Games
Warhounds $34.99 735 71% 22k $772k (exactly $771,530) Everplay DMCC
Machine Mind $19.99 567 71% 17k $340k (exactly $340,030) Chudo-Yudo Games
Ancient Wars: Sparta Definitive Edition · EA older $19.99 453 74% 14k $272k (exactly $271,664) JOTASOFT STUDIOS
Undead Horde 2: Necropolis older $16.99 447 83% 13k $228k (exactly $227,836) 10tons Ltd
Prime & Load : 1776 older $7.99 313 76% 9.4k $75k (exactly $75,026) Radio Silence Entertainment
WARSHIFT 2 $19.99 54 70% 1.6k $32k (exactly $32,384) Cyril Megem
WarOS · EA $19.99 29 72% 870 $17k (exactly $17,391) The7 Studio
Warlordocracy $4.99 27 96% 810 $4.0k (exactly $4,042) Brian J. Lancaster, Laughing Coyote Sof… (Brian J. Lancaster, Laughing Coyote Software)
Knights of Conquest: Feudal Shenanigans Galore · EA $11.99 10 80% 300 $3.6k (exactly $3,597) ES Galore

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