Do I ship it?

GamesColony SimColony Sim + Tactical RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tactical RPG Colony Sim?

Colony Sim + Tactical RPG

Only 16 developers shipped a Tactical RPG 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, Mind Over Magic, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 29 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $41k, ×65 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $3.2M, ×5150 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 29 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 65.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 29 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Colony Sim + Tactical RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $25k → $41k → $899 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Colony Sim + Tactical RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Median $41k (exactly $40,923)
Top 25% $166k (exactly $165,688)
Top 5% $3.2M (exactly $3,234,206)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 37
Announced 29
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 95% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Colony Sim
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Tactical RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Colony Sim, Tactical RPG
Price point
$14.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 6,696 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $41k, 1 in 4 over $160k, 1 in 20 over $3.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Colony Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Female ProtagonistFair7 devs · median $4.6k · 11 announced
  2. + ArcadeLong shot13 devs · median $359 · 19 announced
  3. + 4XPoor odds23 devs · median $314k · 77 announced
  4. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds11 devs · median $170k · 25 announced
  5. + Co-opPoor odds13 devs · median $73k · 54 announced
  6. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds11 devs · median $73k · 21 announced
  7. + HistoricalPoor odds42 devs · median $59k · 75 announced
  8. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds16 devs · median $59k · 43 announced
  9. + Open WorldPoor odds78 devs · median $58k · 168 announced
  10. + Action RPGPoor odds11 devs · median $58k · 35 announced
  11. + Post-apocalypticPoor odds48 devs · median $54k · 101 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds13 devs · median $50k · 31 announced

All 93 pairs on the Colony Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
RimWorld older $34.99 208,693 97% 6.3M $219M (exactly $219,065,042) Ludeon Studios
Mind Over Magic $24.99 4,314 86% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,234,206) Sparkypants
Dungeon Settlers · EA $24.99 1,117 79% 34k $837k (exactly $837,415) CanOpener
Thrive: Heavy Lies The Crown $27.99 374 54% 11k $314k (exactly $314,048) Zugalu Entertainment
TFM: The First Men · EA older $24.99 372 55% 11k $279k (exactly $278,888) Gathering Tree
This Grand Life 2 $17.99 307 88% 9.2k $166k (exactly $165,688) Poking Water Games
Ninja Village older $8.99 546 93% 16k $147k (exactly $147,256) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
High Sea Saga DX older $8.99 501 81% 15k $135k (exactly $135,120) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Song's Fantasy $7.99 229 55% 6.9k $55k (exactly $54,891) 南十字座工作室
Outland Kingdoms · EA $24.99 72 73% 2.2k $54k (exactly $53,978) GBL
Edge Islands · EA $17.99 93 74% 2.8k $50k (exactly $50,192) LS Games
Oasis Mission: Colony Sim $14.99 91 56% 2.7k $41k (exactly $40,923) Lunar pug studio
Rising Army $11.99 57 64% 1.7k $21k (exactly $20,503) Arkbits
Scarecropia $9.99 42 88% 1.3k $13k (exactly $12,587) JYP Studio

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