Games › Grand Strategy › Grand Strategy + Artificial Intelligence
Should I ship an AI Grand Strategy?
Grand Strategy + Artificial Intelligence
Of 21 developers who shipped an AI Grand Strategy 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.. 38 more are announced.
Verdict: long shot, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $750, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, but 1 in 20 cleared $97k, ×65 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 38 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $750 (exactly $750) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,195) |
| Top 5% | $97k (exactly $97,151) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 64 |
| Announced | 38 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 850% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Grand Strategy
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Artificial Intelligence
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Grand Strategy; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Simulation, Resource Management
- Price point
- $12.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 1,394 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 38 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Grand Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RoguelikeFair
- + SportsFair
- + RogueliteFair
- + CrimeFair
- + RacingFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + TabletopLong shot
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War | older | $39.99 | 8,148 82% | 244k | $9.8M (exactly $9,775,156) | Proxy Studios |
| | Democracy 4 | older | $29.99 | 5,891 81% | 177k | $5.3M (exactly $5,300,133) | Positech Games |
| | Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator 2 | older | $19.99 | 7,206 84% | 216k | $4.3M (exactly $4,321,438) | Brilliant Game Studios |
| | Panzer Corps 2 | older | $39.99 | 3,512 84% | 105k | $4.2M (exactly $4,213,346) | Flashback Games |
| | Power & Revolution 2020 Edition | older | $49.99 | 769 63% | 23k | $1.2M (exactly $1,153,269) | Eversim |
| | Fantasy Map Simulator | · EA older | $7.99 | 4,190 89% | 126k | $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) | The Stranger |
| | SuperPower 3 | older | $29.99 | 982 10% | 29k | $884k (exactly $883,505) | GolemLabs |
| | Field of Glory: Empires | older | $39.99 | 734 81% | 22k | $881k (exactly $880,580) | Ageod |
| | HackHub - Ultimate Hacker Simulator | $16.99 | 937 88% | 28k | $478k (exactly $477,589) | HotBunny | |
| | Galactic Civilizations® II: Ultimate Edition | older | $9.99 | 955 80% | 29k | $286k (exactly $286,214) | Stardock Entertainment |
| | Mr. President | $19.99 | 162 75% | 4.9k | $97k (exactly $97,151) | Exia Labs | |
| | Tennis Manager 25 | $19.99 | 76 68% | 2.3k | $46k (exactly $45,577) | Rebound | |
| | City States: Medieval | $19.99 | 48 68% | 1.4k | $29k (exactly $28,786) | Reverie World Studios | |
| | POTUS Election Sim | $9.99 | 47 53% | 1.4k | $14k (exactly $14,086) | Dackers Studios | |
| | Arinoa: Conquest | $14.99 | 16 87% | 480 | $7.2k (exactly $7,195) | Alternate | |
| | Command by Voice: World Conquest | · EA | $9.99 | 19 52% | 570 | $5.7k (exactly $5,694) | Side Meicai |
| | Coastal Summit Sports: College Hockey 26 | $9.99 | 18 83% | 540 | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) | Coastal Summit Sports | |
| | Conqueror's Stage | $7.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $3.8k (exactly $3,835) | LeftLane Interactive | |
| | Melstorm game | $0.99 | 55 83% | 1.7k | $1.6k (exactly $1,634) | ZERO5GAMES |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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