Do I ship it?

Games › Class-Based › Class-Based + Base Building

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Base Building Class-Based game?

Class-Based + Base Building

Only 18 developers shipped a Base Building Class-Based game 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, WARDOGS, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 44 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $33k, ×22 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $69M, ×46651 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 44 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 21.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 44 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Class-Based + Base Building
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.3k → $2.0k → $13k → $223k → $27k (still earning) → $96k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Class-Based + Base Building: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $899 (exactly $899)
Median $33k (exactly $32,667)
Top 25% $571k (exactly $571,228)
Top 5% $70M (exactly $69,882,525)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 48
Announced 44
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 80% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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.

Class-Based
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Base Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Class-Based, Base Building; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, FPS, Tactical
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 99,193 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $33k, 1 in 4 over $570k, 1 in 20 over $69M.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 4 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Class-Based with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + AutomationFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  2. + Bullet HeavenFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 38 announced
  3. + SupernaturalLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  4. + 2D PlatformerLong shot26 devs · median $539 · 30 announced
  5. + FPSPoor odds22 devs · median $70k · 70 announced
  6. + MMORPGPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  7. + WarPoor odds17 devs · median $32k · 59 announced
  8. + Souls-likePoor odds16 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  9. + MilitaryPoor odds17 devs · median $13k · 42 announced
  10. + Third-Person ShooterPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  11. + WargamePoor odds14 devs · median $9.4k · 28 announced
  12. + ManagementPoor odds26 devs · median $8.1k · 64 announced

All 111 pairs on the Class-Based page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

WARDOGS 2026 · EA · $70M Starship Troopers: Extermination 2024 · $27M Tower Dominion 2025 · $2.7M NORSE: Oath of Blood 2026 · $2.7M Neighbors: Suburban Warfare 2025 · EA · $571k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
WARDOGS · EA $39.99 58,250 81% 1.7M $70M (exactly $69,882,525) BULKHEAD
Starship Troopers: Extermination $29.99 29,724 80% 892k $27M (exactly $26,742,683) Offworld
Tower Dominion $17.49 5,117 85% 154k $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) Parallel 45 Games
NORSE: Oath of Blood $34.99 2,535 56% 76k $2.7M (exactly $2,660,990) Arctic Hazard
Neighbors: Suburban Warfare · EA $9.99 1,906 66% 57k $571k (exactly $571,228) Invisible Walls
Goblin Stone older $24.99 735 52% 22k $551k (exactly $551,030) Orc Chop Games
One Military Camp older $24.99 684 75% 21k $513k (exactly $512,795) Abylight Barcelona
The Pioneers: Surviving Desolation · EA older $29.99 397 63% 12k $357k (exactly $357,181) Supercube
Cube Chaos $11.99 621 95% 19k $223k (exactly $223,374) Wunarg
Legionbound $9.99 671 83% 20k $201k (exactly $201,099) Spicy Garlic Games
Din's Champion $19.99 160 85% 4.8k $96k (exactly $95,952) Soldak Entertainment
Kritter: Defend Together $9.99 109 86% 3.3k $33k (exactly $32,667) LJF Games
Wool at the Gates $8.99 100 92% 3.0k $27k (exactly $26,970) Okay Creature

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