Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Resource Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Resource Management game?

Combat + Resource Management

Of 336 developers who shipped a Combat Resource Management 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.. 854 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $440k, ×704 the market median. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 854 games are announced against 221 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 854 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Resource Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 336
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.0k → $3.7k → $1.9k → $449 → $1.9k → $1.1k → $2.4k (still earning) → $1.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Resource Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 336
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,617)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $16,790)
Top 5% $442k (exactly $442,323)
Developers, 2 yr 336
Released games 656
Announced 854
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 140% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Resource Management
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, Resource Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, Action
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 65,843 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $440k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 134 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 854 games are announced against 221 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 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

Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition 2020 · $39M Soulmask 2026 · $17M Cronos: The New Dawn 2025 · $14M MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries 2021 · $12M Dome Keeper 2022 · $10M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition older $34.99 37,093 84% 1.1M $39M (exactly $38,936,522) World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten… (World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten Empires)
Soulmask $29.99 18,445 76% 553k $17M (exactly $16,594,966) CampFire Studio
Cronos: The New Dawn $59.99 7,753 87% 233k $14M (exactly $13,953,074) Bloober Team
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries older $29.99 13,347 84% 400k $12M (exactly $12,008,296) Piranha Games Inc.
Dome Keeper older $17.99 18,976 92% 569k $10M (exactly $10,241,347) Bippinbits
Stranded: Alien Dawn older $34.99 9,715 84% 291k $10M (exactly $10,197,836) Haemimont Games
Age of Darkness: Final Stand $27.99 9,486 74% 285k $8.0M (exactly $7,965,394) PlaySide
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check $19.99 11,827 81% 355k $7.1M (exactly $7,092,652) Brigada Games
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
SpaceCraft · EA $29.99 2,616 64% 78k $2.4M (exactly $2,353,615) Shiro Games
Ascension · EA $19.99 2,437 60% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,461,469) Element Game 微元游戏
Wild Woods · EA $14.99 1,746 78% 52k $785k (exactly $785,176) Octofox Games
Airborne Empire $29.99 852 86% 26k $767k (exactly $766,544) The Wandering Band LLC
Border Pioneer $14.99 1,675 86% 50k $753k (exactly $753,248) Yahzj Games

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