Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Economy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Economy game?

Combat + Economy

Of 75 developers who shipped a Combat Economy 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.. 214 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×3.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $440k, ×704 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 214 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 214 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Economy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 75
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $13k → $898 → $21k → $1.6k → $13k → $7.2k → $1.1k (still earning) → $4.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Economy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 75
Bottom 30% $748 (exactly $748)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,097)
Top 25% $19k (exactly $19,190)
Top 5% $442k (exactly $442,323)
Developers, 2 yr 75
Released games 160
Announced 214
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 down 75% on the market, supply 155% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Economy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat, Economy; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Management, Resource Management
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 69% positive over 19,798 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $750, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $19k, 1 in 20 over $440k.

3 in 10 developers made under $750. 7 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 214 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries 2021 · $12M The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M Songs of Syx 2020 · EA · $6.6M Dune: Imperium 2024 · $2.6M Frozenheim 2022 · $2.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries older $29.99 13,347 84% 400k $12M (exactly $12,008,296) Piranha Games Inc.
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
Songs of Syx · EA older $24.99 8,842 94% 265k $6.6M (exactly $6,628,847) Gamatron AB
Dune: Imperium older $22.99 3,806 94% 114k $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) Dire Wolf
Frozenheim older $19.99 3,463 70% 104k $2.1M (exactly $2,076,761) Paranoid Interactive
Ascension · EA $19.99 2,437 60% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,461,469) Element Game 微元游戏
Soulash 2 · EA older $18.99 2,382 85% 71k $1.4M (exactly $1,357,025) Artur Smiarowski
Power & Revolution 2021 Edition older $49.99 629 56% 19k $943k (exactly $943,311) Eversim
Power & Revolution 2023 Edition older $49.99 499 60% 15k $748k (exactly $748,350) Eversim
Geo-Political Simulator 5 $59.99 391 34% 12k $704k (exactly $703,683) Eversim
Survive the Fall $24.99 590 65% 18k $442k (exactly $442,323) Angry Bulls Studio
The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire · EA $18.99 385 81% 12k $219k (exactly $219,334) BEF GAMES
Crownhold $6.99 471 84% 14k $99k (exactly $98,769) Tobias Mikula
九州：立志 $11.99 235 81% 7.1k $85k (exactly $84,530) Xbgzs
Dust Raiders $15.99 160 64% 4.8k $77k (exactly $76,752) Vixa Games
Fall of an Empire $29.99 80 67% 2.4k $72k (exactly $71,976) JG Games
Goblin Camp $19.99 118 76% 3.5k $71k (exactly $70,765) Korppi Games Ltd

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