Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Political Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Political Sim?

Combat + Political Sim

Only 14 developers shipped a Combat Political 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, Ascension, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $49k, ×79 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $840; 1 in 20 cleared $1.4M, ×2327 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 22 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 78.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 22 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Political Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $193k → $9.3k → $450 → $839 (still earning) → $49k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Political Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $839 (exactly $839)
Median $49k (exactly $49,492)
Top 25% $184k (exactly $183,938)
Top 5% $1.5M (exactly $1,461,469)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 40
Announced 22
Effort 5 / 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 down 95% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Political Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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, Political Sim; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Resource Management, Sandbox
Price point
$12.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.

The top 10 games average 62% positive over 4,074 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $840, median $49k, 1 in 4 over $180k, 1 in 20 over $1.4M.

3 in 10 developers made under $840. 3 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  10. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced
  12. + ProgrammingPoor odds10 devs · median $14k · 19 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Ascension 2025 · EA · $1.5M Power & Revolution 2022 Edition 2022 · $1.2M Power & Revolution 2021 Edition 2021 · $943k Ancient Warfare: The Han Dynasty 2023 · EA · $871k Power & Revolution 2023 Edition 2023 · $748k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ascension · EA $19.99 2,437 60% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,461,469) Element Game 微元游戏
Power & Revolution 2022 Edition older $49.99 815 60% 24k $1.2M (exactly $1,222,256) Eversim
Power & Revolution 2021 Edition older $49.99 629 56% 19k $943k (exactly $943,311) Eversim
Ancient Warfare: The Han Dynasty · EA older $16.99 1,708 69% 51k $871k (exactly $870,568) 不秋草游戏工作室(Bamboo Games)
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
NationWar2:Chronicle $16.99 378 78% 11k $193k (exactly $192,667) Yiming
Age of Clicks · EA $12.99 472 65% 14k $184k (exactly $183,938) David Ius
Fall of an Empire $29.99 80 67% 2.4k $72k (exactly $71,976) JG Games
Nations · EA $14.99 141 89% 4.2k $63k (exactly $63,408) Krzysztof Steiner
Three Kingdoms Classic $12.99 127 88% 3.8k $49k (exactly $49,492) SEEAT
Flames in Modern Europe · EA $9.99 31 61% 930 $9.3k (exactly $9,291) Volodymyr Marsenko
MA 2 – President Simulator $4.99 13 69% 390 $1.9k (exactly $1,946) Oxiwyle Inc.
三国画卷 $6.99 4 50% 120 $839 (exactly $839) 三国画卷制作组

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