Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist Combat game?

Combat + Capitalism

Of 38 developers who shipped a Capitalist Combat game 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.. 107 more are announced, ×5.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×5.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $2.9M, ×4772 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 107 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 107 announced, ×5.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Capitalism
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.5k → $11k → $1.9k → $2.8k → $2.2k → $21k → $3.2k (still earning) → $5.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $3.3k (exactly $3,293)
Top 25% $85k (exactly $84,530)
Top 5% $3.0M (exactly $2,996,894)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 99
Announced 107
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 70% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 26%, 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Capitalism
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Simulation, Shooter
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 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 $34.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 26,304 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $3.3k, 1 in 4 over $84k, 1 in 20 over $2.9M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 6 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 107 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M MindsEye 2025 · $3.0M Forefront 2026 · $1.6M Geo-Political Simulator 5 2024 · $704k Astro Prospector 2025 · $482k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
MindsEye $34.99 2,855 48% 86k $3.0M (exactly $2,996,894) Build A Rocket Boy
Forefront $27.99 1,913 84% 57k $1.6M (exactly $1,606,346) Triangle Factory
Geo-Political Simulator 5 $59.99 391 34% 12k $704k (exactly $703,683) Eversim
Astro Prospector $4.99 3,223 91% 97k $482k (exactly $482,483) Incrementalist
Outhold $6.99 1,818 86% 55k $381k (exactly $381,235) Tellus Games
Skull Island: Rise of Kong older $39.99 153 35% 4.6k $184k (exactly $183,554) IguanaBee
Coin Push RPG $9.99 584 76% 18k $175k (exactly $175,025) RAmen
SeaCret 1 · EA $39.99 99 61% 3.0k $119k (exactly $118,770) Dalas
Black Gold - Shining Town $13.99 255 80% 7.7k $107k (exactly $107,024) Morexingame
九州：立志 $11.99 235 81% 7.1k $85k (exactly $84,530) Xbgzs

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