Games › Combat › Combat + Cold War
Should I ship a Cold-War Combat game?
Combat + Cold War
Of 24 developers who shipped a Cold-War 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.. 46 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $1.1M, ×1759 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 46 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $450 (exactly $450) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.4k (exactly $2,397) |
| Top 25% | $83k (exactly $82,759) |
| Top 5% | $1.1M (exactly $1,104,832) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 73 |
| Announced | 46 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 145% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Combat; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Simulation
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 65% positive over 14,908 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 46 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Combat with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds
- + 4XFair
- + TypingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + SnowFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Match 3Long shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Political SimPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Hell Let Loose: Vietnam 2026 · $13M 
Regiments 2022 · $2.5M 
Freedom Fighters 2020 · $1.2M 
'83 2026 · EA · $1.1M 
Tiny Combat Arena 2022 · EA · $906k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hell Let Loose: Vietnam | $39.99 | 10,702 61% | 321k | $13M (exactly $12,839,189) | Expression Games | |
| | Regiments | older | $29.99 | 2,822 87% | 85k | $2.5M (exactly $2,538,953) | Bird's Eye Games |
| | Freedom Fighters | older | $14.99 | 2,574 94% | 77k | $1.2M (exactly $1,157,528) | IO Interactive A/S |
| | '83 | · EA | $29.99 | 1,228 65% | 37k | $1.1M (exactly $1,104,832) | Blue Dot Games |
| | Tiny Combat Arena | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,511 81% | 45k | $906k (exactly $906,147) | Why485, MicroProse Software |
 | Vietnam War | · EA | $14.99 | 1,704 84% | 51k | $766k (exactly $766,289) | Thorium Game Lab |
 | Combat Mission Cold War | older | $59.99 | 156 60% | 4.7k | $281k (exactly $280,753) | Battlefront |
 | Air Defender | · EA | $20.19 | 364 78% | 11k | $220k (exactly $220,475) | ROTOR3 |
 | Möbius Front '83 | older | $19.99 | 328 74% | 9.8k | $197k (exactly $196,702) | Zachtronics |
 | Metal Thunder | · EA | $10.99 | 567 76% | 17k | $187k (exactly $186,940) | Dumbbell Games |
 | F-22: Air Dominance Fighter | $19.99 | 138 91% | 4.1k | $83k (exactly $82,759) | Digital Image Design Ltd. | |
 | Red Tears: Angola | · EA | $14.99 | 39 84% | 1.2k | $18k (exactly $17,538) | Arun Haines |
 | 1953: NATO vs Warsaw Pact | $5.99 | 70 41% | 2.1k | $13k (exactly $12,579) | Wastelands Interactive | |
 | UNSIGHT | $7.99 | 42 50% | 1.3k | $10k (exactly $10,067) | C51 Games | |
 | MoeArmy vs SuArmy | $2.99 | 54 83% | 1.6k | $4.8k (exactly $4,844) | KumiLGames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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