Do I ship it?

GamesGrand StrategyGrand Strategy + Automation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Automation Grand Strategy?

Grand Strategy + Automation

Only 13 developers shipped an Automation Grand Strategy 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, Idle Deepcore, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 29 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360. 29 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper, while momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 29 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grand Strategy + Automation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.0k → $2.1k (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grand Strategy + Automation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $600 (exactly $600)
Top 25% $4.2k (exactly $4,196)
Top 5% $77k (exactly $76,540)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 34
Announced 29
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 450% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, 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
Automation
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Grand Strategy, Automation
Price point
$6.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 583 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $600, 1 in 4 over $4.1k, 1 in 20 over $76k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 29 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Grand Strategy with a different second tag, 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. + Artificial IntelligenceLong shot21 devs · median $750 · 38 announced
  8. + TabletopLong shot26 devs · median $450 · 26 announced
  9. + Turn-BasedPoor odds19 devs · median $131k · 20 announced
  10. + SandboxPoor odds59 devs · median $51k · 125 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds15 devs · median $37k · 29 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds54 devs · median $34k · 117 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
Driftland: The Magic Revival older $19.99 1,439 73% 43k $863k (exactly $862,968) Star Drifters
Transport INC older $11.99 1,014 69% 30k $365k (exactly $364,736) DIGIFOX
SeaOrama: World of Shipping older $19.99 382 58% 11k $229k (exactly $229,085) Hidden Tower, SeaOrama
Idle Deepcore $6.99 365 85% 11k $77k (exactly $76,540) Bluehood Games
Goal Idle · EA $6.99 101 74% 3.0k $21k (exactly $21,180) Royue Games
逐鹿汉末:三国 · EA $14.99 31 61% 930 $14k (exactly $13,941) CXC STUDIO
Beaver Clicker · EA older $4.99 61 75% 1.8k $9.1k (exactly $9,132) Temmie
Rejuvan · EA older $19.99 7 57% 210 $4.2k (exactly $4,198) Papergod
Star Haul Tycoon $9.99 14 78% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) sugames
World of Retailing · EA older $19.99 6 33% 180 $3.6k (exactly $3,598) MazeDEV, Evoke-Gaming
Gym Empire - Idle Gym Tycoon Management $4.99 14 71% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,096) Chronik Spartan
MEMOLOGY: War of Memes $0.99 52 76% 1.6k $1.5k (exactly $1,544) Piece Of Voxel, Gamesforfarm, hannibaln… (Piece Of Voxel, Gamesforfarm, hannibalnotdead)
Imperial Wager: The Shattered Crown of Augustus $19.99 1 0% 30 $600 (exactly $600) Ke Zhou
Urban Ascend $7.99 2 50% 60 $479 (exactly $479) BitQuest Studio
Dice Tech Dominion - Enter the Shadow Circuit $14.99 1 100% 30 $450 (exactly $450) AUTeddy
A Game About Creating The Universe $5.99 2 50% 60 $359 (exactly $359) Dream Dimension

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