Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + Board Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Board Game RTS?

RTS + Board Game

Of 30 developers who shipped a Board Game RTS 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.. 29 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $150 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 17 developers shipped in the last year and 29 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 655% on the market, 29 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Board Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $150 → $0 → $120 → $359 → $719 → $2.5k (still earning) → $239 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Board Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $1.9k (exactly $1,948)
Top 5% $9.0k (exactly $8,963)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 84
Announced 29
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $3.99

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 up 655% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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.

RTS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Board Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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
RTS, Board Game; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Tabletop, Real Time Tactics
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 379 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $240, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $8.9k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

RTS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomeFair12 devs · median $64k · 13 announced
  2. + Outbreak SimFair16 devs · median $2.6k · 14 announced
  3. + HorrorFair20 devs · median $2.4k · 27 announced
  4. + NavalFair15 devs · median $2.4k · 21 announced
  5. + TabletopFair25 devs · median $1.9k · 33 announced
  6. + SportsLong shot19 devs · median $861 · 9 announced
  7. + PuzzleLong shot48 devs · median $479 · 40 announced
  8. + World War IIPoor odds23 devs · median $105k · 38 announced
  9. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds28 devs · median $64k · 41 announced
  10. + Open WorldPoor odds45 devs · median $35k · 100 announced
  11. + Colony SimPoor odds87 devs · median $31k · 159 announced
  12. + HistoricalPoor odds108 devs · median $30k · 180 announced

All 149 pairs on the RTS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Ultimate General: Civil War 2017 · $7.5M Line War 2022 · $807k Big Bia 2022 · $583k Dice Legacy 2021 · $401k Dark Future: Blood Red States (Classic) 2019 · $187k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ultimate General: Civil War older $29.99 8,331 88% 250k $7.5M (exactly $7,495,401) Game-Labs
Line War older $24.99 1,076 80% 32k $807k (exactly $806,677) Studio Centurion
Big Bia older $14.99 1,296 69% 39k $583k (exactly $582,811) Pixel House Games
Dice Legacy older $14.99 892 67% 27k $401k (exactly $401,132) DESTINYbit
Dark Future: Blood Red States (Classic) older $24.99 250 70% 7.5k $187k (exactly $187,425) Auroch Digital
Skyworld older $14.99 229 79% 6.9k $103k (exactly $102,981) Vertigo Games, Wolfdog Interactive
Attack at Dawn: North Africa older $29.99 101 87% 3.0k $91k (exactly $90,870) Panzer Division Games
The Bluecoats: North & South older $14.99 176 61% 5.3k $79k (exactly $79,147) Appeal Studios
Strategy & Tactics: Dark Ages older $14.99 150 61% 4.5k $67k (exactly $67,455) HeroLabs
The Dope Game older $4.99 188 79% 5.6k $28k (exactly $28,144) Tenth&Hess Games
Liar Game $2.99 109 82% 3.3k $9.8k (exactly $9,777) Kark Project
Legacy of Sin: Ill-Boding $12.99 23 69% 690 $9.0k (exactly $8,963) Absolute Power Game Studio
Guandan $4.99 29 89% 870 $4.3k (exactly $4,341) Pixel Dance
Buttons Up! $1.99 53 84% 1.6k $3.2k (exactly $3,164) Jestercraft
即时象棋：旧棋新弈 Hyper Chinese Chess $1.99 51 76% 1.5k $3.0k (exactly $3,045) 上弦月工作室AscentGames
Demon Princess Retreat $3.99 21 85% 630 $2.5k (exactly $2,514) OneShotStudio, SamAFEI
Ocean Cleaner Idle $2.99 28 57% 840 $2.5k (exactly $2,512) Watt a Day Games
LouveSystems' Realms $12.99 5 100% 150 $1.9k (exactly $1,948) LouveSystems
Bone Marrow 2 $7.99 8 87% 240 $1.9k (exactly $1,918) HugePixel
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)

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