Games › Grand Strategy › Grand Strategy + Capitalism
Should I ship a Capitalist Grand Strategy?
Grand Strategy + Capitalism
Of 41 developers who shipped a Capitalist Grand Strategy 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.. 59 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×1.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×112 the market median. Revenue is up 110% on the market; 59 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $900 (exactly $900) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,648) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $14,086) |
| Top 5% | $167k (exactly $167,311) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 41 |
| Released games | 96 |
| Announced | 59 |
| 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 up 110% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Capitalism
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Grand Strategy; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Economy, Strategy, Management
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 63% positive over 2,178 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 8 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Grand Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RoguelikeFair
- + SportsFair
- + RogueliteFair
- + CrimeFair
- + RacingFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceLong shot
- + TabletopLong shot
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
Victoria 3 2022 · $62M 
Democracy 4 2022 · $5.3M 
Total War: PHARAOH 2023 · $3.3M 
City Bus Manager 2024 · $2.2M 
City of Gangsters 2021 · $1.2M | 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 |
| | Democracy 4 | older | $29.99 | 5,891 81% | 177k | $5.3M (exactly $5,300,133) | Positech Games |
| | Total War: PHARAOH | older | $29.99 | 3,622 63% | 109k | $3.3M (exactly $3,258,713) | CREATIVE ASSEMBLY |
| | City Bus Manager | older | $29.99 | 2,405 90% | 72k | $2.2M (exactly $2,163,778) | PeDePe GbR |
| | City of Gangsters | older | $29.99 | 1,332 73% | 40k | $1.2M (exactly $1,198,400) | SomaSim |
 | Railroad Corporation | older | $35.99 | 1,094 74% | 33k | $1.2M (exactly $1,181,192) | Corbie Games |
 | City Game Studio: Your Game Dev Adventure Begins | older | $19.99 | 1,779 91% | 53k | $1.1M (exactly $1,066,866) | Binogure Studio 🐺 |
 | Plutocracy | · EA older | $24.99 | 1,305 79% | 39k | $978k (exactly $978,358) | Redwood |
 | Geo-Political Simulator 5 | $59.99 | 391 34% | 12k | $704k (exactly $703,683) | Eversim | |
 | Imagine Earth | older | $24.99 | 810 79% | 24k | $607k (exactly $607,257) | Serious Bros. |
 | Geo-Political Simulator 2026 Edition | $59.99 | 249 48% | 7.5k | $448k (exactly $448,125) | Eversim | |
 | 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 | |
 | For the Fatherland: Chronicle of Park Chung-hee | $14.99 | 176 88% | 5.3k | $79k (exactly $79,147) | KMS STUDIO | |
 | Imperial Ambitions | $19.99 | 101 81% | 3.0k | $61k (exactly $60,570) | aoiti | |
 | 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 | |
 | Ranchbound | · EA | $17.99 | 44 50% | 1.3k | $24k (exactly $23,747) | Eldersong Games |
 | Skyline Urban Story | $6.99 | 106 90% | 3.2k | $22k (exactly $22,228) | PandaUpStudio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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