Games › Colony Sim › Colony Sim + Military
Should I ship a Military Colony Sim?
Colony Sim + Military
Only 18 developers shipped a Military Colony Sim 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, Diplomacy is Not an Option, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 34 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $21k, ×33 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $9.8M, ×15622 the market median. Revenue is up 11815% on the market; 34 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) |
|---|---|
| Median | $21k (exactly $20,503) |
| Top 25% | $332k (exactly $331,879) |
| Top 5% | $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 43 |
| Announced | 34 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 11815% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Colony Sim
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Military
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Colony Sim; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Strategy, Building
- Price point
- $12.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 22,374 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.3k. 6 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Colony Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + ArcadeLong shot
- + 4XPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + Alternate HistoryPoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + Action RPGPoor odds
- + Post-apocalypticPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
Comparable games
Diplomacy is Not an Option 2024 · $9.8M 
Stronghold: Warlords 2021 · $5.3M 
Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) 2013 · $5.3M 
Becastled 2025 · $3.2M 
Pax Autocratica 2026 · EA · $2.9M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Diplomacy is Not an Option | $29.99 | 10,904 85% | 327k | $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) | Door 407 | |
| | Stronghold: Warlords | older | $39.99 | 4,449 65% | 133k | $5.3M (exactly $5,337,465) | Firefly Studios |
| | Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) | older | $9.99 | 17,564 97% | 527k | $5.3M (exactly $5,263,931) | Firefly Studios |
| | Becastled | $19.99 | 5,349 81% | 160k | $3.2M (exactly $3,207,795) | Mana Potion Studios | |
| | Pax Autocratica | · EA | $29.99 | 3,202 91% | 96k | $2.9M (exactly $2,880,839) | Multiverse |
 | Stronghold 2: Steam Edition | older | $14.99 | 4,881 88% | 146k | $2.2M (exactly $2,194,986) | Firefly Studios |
 | Ground of Aces | · EA | $29.99 | 1,415 84% | 42k | $1.3M (exactly $1,273,076) | Blindflug Studios AG |
 | Stronghold Legends: Steam Edition | older | $14.99 | 2,297 87% | 69k | $1.0M (exactly $1,032,961) | Firefly Studios |
 | Fantasy Map Simulator | · EA older | $7.99 | 4,190 89% | 126k | $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) | The Stranger |
 | Territory: Farming and Warfare | $14.99 | 738 84% | 22k | $332k (exactly $331,879) | Wit Studio | |
 | After Long Night | $9.99 | 381 72% | 11k | $114k (exactly $114,186) | 疯狗工作室 | |
 | Tlatoani: Aztec Cities | $19.99 | 180 83% | 5.4k | $108k (exactly $107,946) | Perspective Games, Bellwood Studios | |
 | Riftborne | · EA | $7.99 | 108 91% | 3.2k | $26k (exactly $25,888) | Pitio Productions |
 | Rising Army | $11.99 | 57 64% | 1.7k | $21k (exactly $20,503) | Arkbits | |
 | Royal Lord - 王权领主 | $14.99 | 40 90% | 1.2k | $18k (exactly $17,988) | 开发鸭 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.