Do I ship it?

GamesOpen WorldOpen World + Cold War

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cold-War Open World game?

Open World + Cold War

Only 7 developers shipped a Cold-War Open World game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Vietnam War, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 21 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $18k, ×12 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $760k, ×512 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 21 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 11.7 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 21 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Open World + Cold War
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 7

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Open World + Cold War: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 7
Bottom 30% $1.8k (exactly $1,799)
Median $18k (exactly $17,538)
Top 25% $480k (exactly $479,760)
Top 5% $766k (exactly $766,289)
Developers, 2 yr 7
Released games 32
Announced 21
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $14.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 500% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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.

Open World
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Cold War
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Open World
Price point
$14.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 86,589 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.8k, median $18k, 1 in 4 over $470k, 1 in 20 over $760k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 21 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $634k · 17 announced
  2. + 4 Player LocalFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $23k · 21 announced
  4. + TrainsFair27 devs · median $21k · 25 announced
  5. + FMVFair11 devs · median $14k · 13 announced
  6. + GothicFair25 devs · median $5.4k · 32 announced
  7. + MarsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  8. + TanksFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  9. + FaithLong shot11 devs · median $716 · 14 announced
  10. + DiplomacyPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8M · 38 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  12. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds17 devs · median $267k · 65 announced

All 240 pairs on the Open World page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Arma Reforger older $39.99 51,613 80% 1.5M $62M (exactly $61,920,116) Bohemia Interactive
METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES older $19.99 13,535 84% 406k $8.1M (exactly $8,116,939) KONAMI
Cold Waters older $39.99 4,603 87% 138k $5.5M (exactly $5,522,219) Killerfish Games
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified older $19.99 4,857 67% 146k $2.9M (exactly $2,912,743) 2K Marin
Sniper Elite older $7.99 3,579 76% 107k $858k (exactly $857,886) Rebellion
IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 older $9.99 2,653 88% 80k $795k (exactly $795,104) 1C: Maddox Games
Vietnam War · EA $14.99 1,704 84% 51k $766k (exactly $766,289) Thorium Game Lab
Arma: Cold War Assault Remastered older $9.99 2,402 89% 72k $720k (exactly $719,879) Bohemia Interactive, Josef Šimánek (ret… (Bohemia Interactive, Josef Šimánek (retro))
Scavland · EA $19.99 800 81% 24k $480k (exactly $479,760) NoShadow
Tropico 3 older $9.99 843 90% 25k $253k (exactly $252,647) Haemimont Games
Heroines Through My Lens $19.99 168 87% 5.0k $101k (exactly $100,750) Storytaco
Red Tears: Angola · EA $14.99 39 84% 1.2k $18k (exactly $17,538) Arun Haines
DokiDoki Hanetsuki VR: Paddle & Ink · EA $14.99 4 100% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) momodu
Lost Stories $6.99 2 50% 60 $419 (exactly $419) Fugon
Ghost Dragon III $2.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Laurent Cancé

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