Do I ship it?

GamesGrand StrategyGrand Strategy + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 38 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grand Strategy + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $97k → $450 → $90 (still earning) → $7.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grand Strategy + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
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.

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.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $750, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $97k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 38 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Grand Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RoguelikeFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  2. + SportsFair21 devs · median $2.1k · 26 announced
  3. + RogueliteFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  4. + CrimeFair8 devs · median $1.9k · 13 announced
  5. + RacingFair8 devs · median $1.8k · 7 announced
  6. + IncrementalFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 27 announced
  7. + TabletopLong shot26 devs · median $450 · 26 announced
  8. + Turn-BasedPoor odds19 devs · median $131k · 20 announced
  9. + SandboxPoor odds59 devs · median $51k · 125 announced
  10. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds15 devs · median $37k · 29 announced
  11. + DiplomacyPoor odds54 devs · median $34k · 117 announced
  12. + NavalPoor odds8 devs · median $27k · 17 announced

All 104 pairs on the Grand Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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.