Do I ship it?

GamesAction RTSAction RTS + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management Action RTS?

Action RTS + Time Management

Only 14 developers shipped a Time Management 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, Deep Among the Swarm, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced, ×2.4 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 $180. 19 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper, while revenue is down 65% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 19 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RTS + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $148 → $779 → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RTS + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $779 (exactly $779)
Top 25% $2.3k (exactly $2,279)
Top 5% $36k (exactly $35,600)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 26
Announced 19
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 65% on the market, supply 35% more developers than 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
Time Management
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, Time Management
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 188 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $780, 1 in 4 over $2.2k, 1 in 20 over $35k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Timemelters older $19.99 152 92% 4.6k $91k (exactly $91,154) Autoexec Games
KallaX older $9.99 278 84% 8.3k $83k (exactly $83,317) Unexpected
The Unexpected Quest older $12.99 166 77% 5.0k $65k (exactly $64,690) Rionix
Deep Among the Swarm $8.99 132 85% 4.0k $36k (exactly $35,600) Pebble Mountain Games
The Rings of Powder older $12.99 45 95% 1.4k $18k (exactly $17,536) Artificial Worlds
Tempest Tower $14.99 24 83% 720 $11k (exactly $10,793) Half Past Yellow
BATTLERCORE: TEAM BLAZER $14.99 9 66% 270 $4.0k (exactly $4,047) SCARLET-G
Cog Foo $18.99 4 0% 120 $2.3k (exactly $2,279) Anforus Games
Suspicious Shuffle older $4.99 13 100% 390 $1.9k (exactly $1,946) Sami Kilani
Going Loco $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) David Addis
Small People Defense $4.99 6 83% 180 $898 (exactly $898) Koalas in Traffic
Timber Wars $12.99 2 100% 60 $779 (exactly $779) Priyam Jain
PiyoWars $3.99 4 100% 120 $479 (exactly $479) GyuhoGames
Air Fleet $2.99 3 0% 90 $269 (exactly $269) River Way Studios
Capitaland · EA $5.99 1 100% 30 $180 (exactly $180) ENRGTK

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