Do I ship it?

GamesCombatCombat + Western

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Western Combat game?

Combat + Western

Of 59 developers who shipped a Western Combat 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.. 78 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×451 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 78 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 78 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Western
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 59
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $628 → $1.3k → $899 → $239 → $11k (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Western: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 59
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $7.0k (exactly $7,016)
Top 5% $283k (exactly $283,058)
Developers, 2 yr 59
Released games 121
Announced 78
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 15% on the market, supply 35% 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
Western
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 34,282 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $450, 1 in 4 over $7.0k, 1 in 20 over $280k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 78 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Combat with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Far Far West · EA $19.99 31,458 95% 944k $19M (exactly $18,865,363) Evil Raptor
Hard West 2 older $29.99 2,717 80% 82k $2.4M (exactly $2,444,485) Ice Code Games
Mohrta $19.99 1,482 91% 44k $889k (exactly $888,755) Scumhead, Osiol
Soulslinger: Envoy of Death $19.99 472 63% 14k $283k (exactly $283,058) Elder Games
They Always Run older $9.99 770 78% 23k $231k (exactly $230,769) Alawar
Tombwater $24.99 282 92% 8.5k $211k (exactly $211,415) Moth Atlas
Bloodroots older $19.99 230 89% 6.9k $138k (exactly $137,931) Paper Cult
Bounty Star $24.99 159 65% 4.8k $119k (exactly $119,202) DINOGOD
PolyClassic: Wild older $13.99 213 76% 6.4k $89k (exactly $89,396) Quacky Games
Siege of Avalon: Anthology older $9.99 262 86% 7.9k $79k (exactly $78,521) Digital Tome, General Arcade, Steffen N… (Digital Tome, General Arcade, Steffen Nyeland)
Graveyard Gunslingers $7.99 224 58% 6.7k $54k (exactly $53,693) PyroPhysics
Frontier Legends · EA $29.99 57 40% 1.7k $51k (exactly $51,283) Neojac Entertainment Inc.
The Prisoning: Fletcher's Quest $14.99 53 88% 1.6k $24k (exactly $23,834) Elden Pixels
Rose and Locket $11.99 54 92% 1.6k $19k (exactly $19,424) Whistling Wizard
Saloonery $9.99 41 97% 1.2k $12k (exactly $12,288) Bow Tie Cat Studios

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