Do I ship it?

GamesDiplomacyDiplomacy + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist Diplomacy game?

Diplomacy + Capitalism

Of 24 developers who shipped a Capitalist Diplomacy 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.. 51 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×266 the market median. Revenue is up 200% on the market; 51 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 200% on the market, 51 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Diplomacy + Capitalism
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $390 → $898 → $6.0k → $4.8k (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Diplomacy + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $20,693)
Top 5% $167k (exactly $167,311)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 57
Announced 51
Effort 6 / 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 up 200% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Diplomacy
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Diplomacy; all of the top 25% also carry Economy, Management, Political Sim
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 1,368 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Visual NovelFair16 devs · median $5.4k · 19 announced
  2. + Interactive FictionFair12 devs · median $1.0k · 17 announced
  3. + Space SimLong shot7 devs · median $360 · 14 announced
  4. + Open WorldPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8M · 38 announced
  5. + Base BuildingPoor odds19 devs · median $520k · 47 announced
  6. + PvPPoor odds10 devs · median $124k · 44 announced
  7. + SandboxPoor odds34 devs · median $116k · 89 announced
  8. + City BuilderPoor odds26 devs · median $108k · 47 announced
  9. + SurvivalPoor odds16 devs · median $100k · 28 announced
  10. + 4XPoor odds29 devs · median $86k · 79 announced
  11. + HistoricalPoor odds50 devs · median $79k · 92 announced
  12. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds30 devs · median $79k · 48 announced

All 57 pairs on the Diplomacy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Victoria 3 older $49.99 41,251 71% 1.2M $62M (exactly $61,864,125) Paradox Development Studio
Tropico 6 older $39.99 19,837 88% 595k $24M (exactly $23,798,449) Limbic Entertainment, Realmforge Studios
Eco · EA older $29.99 11,375 80% 341k $10M (exactly $10,234,088) Strange Loop Games
Democracy 4 older $29.99 5,891 81% 177k $5.3M (exactly $5,300,133) Positech Games
Imagine Earth older $24.99 810 79% 24k $607k (exactly $607,257) Serious Bros.
Computer Tycoon · EA older $19.99 916 84% 27k $549k (exactly $549,325) Progorion
Lawgivers II · EA older $24.99 565 73% 17k $424k (exactly $423,580) Damian Bernardi
Realpolitiks 3: Earth and Beyond $24.99 253 39% 7.6k $190k (exactly $189,674) Jujubee
Crisis in the Kremlin: The Cold War $7.99 698 80% 21k $167k (exactly $167,311) Nostalgames
Lawgivers older $6.99 401 82% 12k $84k (exactly $84,090) Damian Bernardi
For the Fatherland: Chronicle of Park Chung-hee $14.99 176 88% 5.3k $79k (exactly $79,147) KMS STUDIO
Global Protocol: New World Order · EA $19.99 85 71% 2.6k $51k (exactly $50,974) Dorlion Interactive
Trade Conquest $14.99 75 69% 2.3k $34k (exactly $33,728) GrandPaw Games
The Guild 1 Remake: Europa 1410 · EA $29.99 23 60% 690 $21k (exactly $20,693) Ashborne Games
CEO Sim: Cyberpunk $14.99 20 85% 600 $9.0k (exactly $8,994) JAD Labs
Nuice Industries · EA $7.99 25 96% 750 $6.0k (exactly $5,992) CastleWind
World Order: Global Power · EA $19.99 8 87% 240 $4.8k (exactly $4,798) Global Strategy Games
Trade Empire · EA $9.99 5 60% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) Valengate

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