Do I ship it?

Games › Strategy RPG › Strategy RPG + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Strategy RPG?

Strategy RPG + Artificial Intelligence

Of 27 developers who shipped an AI Strategy RPG 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.. 50 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $450k, ×720 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 50 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 50 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy RPG + Artificial Intelligence
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: $239 → $3.0k → $7.2k → $1.7k → $300 → $600 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy RPG + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $600 (exactly $600)
Top 25% $2.4k (exactly $2,398)
Top 5% $452k (exactly $451,948)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 77
Announced 50
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 80% on the market, supply 175% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Strategy RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Strategy RPG; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Simulation, Immersive Sim
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Realistic, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 11,202 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $600, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $450k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + SportsFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 26 announced
  2. + SwordplayFair22 devs · median $2.7k · 28 announced
  3. + Bullet HellFair40 devs · median $2.0k · 31 announced
  4. + EconomyFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced
  5. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  6. + ConspiracyFair19 devs · median $1.2k · 21 announced
  7. + Shop KeeperFair21 devs · median $987 · 25 announced
  8. + 2D PlatformerFair108 devs · median $479 · 113 announced
  9. + Point & ClickFair43 devs · median $450 · 47 announced
  10. + Turn-BasedPoor odds58 devs · median $63k · 76 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds30 devs · median $35k · 41 announced
  12. + 4XPoor odds15 devs · median $31k · 33 announced

All 158 pairs on the Strategy RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Road to Empress Ⅱ 2026 · $4.2M Radio Commander: Vietnam '64 2019 · $1.1M 恋爱吗？我家猫会后空翻 2025 · $452k BM General Hospital 2025 · $328k Crypto Mining Simulator 2021 · $212k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Road to Empress Ⅱ $18.00 7,773 80% 233k $4.2M (exactly $4,197,420) New One Studio
Radio Commander: Vietnam '64 older $19.99 1,764 72% 53k $1.1M (exactly $1,057,871) Serious Sim
恋爱吗？我家猫会后空翻 $9.99 1,508 96% 45k $452k (exactly $451,948) 光循花火工作室
BM General Hospital $7.99 1,368 86% 41k $328k (exactly $327,910) zzzgame
Crypto Mining Simulator older $4.99 1,419 65% 43k $212k (exactly $212,424) Satosha Nakamoti
EVOTINCTION older $29.99 173 86% 5.2k $156k (exactly $155,648) Spikewave Games
Three Fairies' Hoppin' Flappin' Great Journey! older $17.99 189 84% 5.7k $102k (exactly $102,003) yomogi_soft
Rugby Union Team Manager 4 older $39.99 60 70% 1.8k $72k (exactly $71,982) Alternative Software Ltd
天下霸圖 older $7.99 288 78% 8.6k $69k (exactly $69,034) T-Time Technology CO., LTD.
Chessaria: The Tactical Adventure (Chess) older $19.99 99 74% 3.0k $59k (exactly $59,370) Pixel Wizards
Tennis Manager 26 $39.99 46 73% 1.4k $55k (exactly $55,186) Rebound
BM Love Cafe $7.99 204 77% 6.1k $49k (exactly $48,899) zzzgame
Tennis Manager 25 $19.99 76 68% 2.3k $46k (exactly $45,577) Rebound
My proud girlfriend--Lina Chapter $5.99 210 91% 6.3k $38k (exactly $37,737) zzzgame
エターナルハンド $12.99 9 88% 270 $3.5k (exactly $3,507) Sumeragi
World Diplomat $29.99 3 33% 90 $2.7k (exactly $2,699) iGindisGames
Ironseed 2 : Consensus $15.99 5 80% 150 $2.4k (exactly $2,398) Robert Morgan

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