Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + World War II

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a WWII Combat game?

Combat + World War II

Of 44 developers who shipped a WWII 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.. 94 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×4.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×1660 the market median. Revenue is up 235% on the market; 94 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 235% on the market, 94 announced, ×4.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + World War II
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 44
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $898 → $11k → $4.5k → $51k → $3.3k → $1.0k → $6.0k (still earning) → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + World War II: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 44
Bottom 30% $480 (exactly $480)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,697)
Top 25% $105k (exactly $105,265)
Top 5% $1.0M (exactly $1,042,752)
Developers, 2 yr 44
Released games 197
Announced 94
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 235% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
World War II
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Combat; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Real Time Tactics, RTS
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 7,611 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $100k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 94 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 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

Battlefield™ V 2020 · $355M Zombie Army 4: Dead War 2021 · $15M Partisans 1941 2020 · $6.8M Sudden Strike 4 2017 · $3.7M Commandos: Origins 2025 · $2.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Battlefield™ V older $49.99 236,709 70% 7.1M $355M (exactly $354,992,487) DICE
Zombie Army 4: Dead War older $49.99 10,028 86% 301k $15M (exactly $15,038,992) Rebellion
Partisans 1941 older $29.99 7,531 82% 226k $6.8M (exactly $6,775,641) Alter Games
Sudden Strike 4 older $19.99 6,249 78% 187k $3.7M (exactly $3,747,525) Kite Games
Commandos: Origins $49.99 1,844 79% 55k $2.8M (exactly $2,765,447) Claymore Game Studios
War Mongrels older $44.99 1,826 72% 55k $2.5M (exactly $2,464,552) Destructive Creations
Call to Arms: Panzer Elite · EA $29.99 1,927 69% 58k $1.7M (exactly $1,733,722) Digitalmindsoft
Panzer Knights older $24.99 1,896 79% 57k $1.4M (exactly $1,421,431) 樂磚Joy Brick
Aces of Thunder $29.99 1,159 57% 35k $1.0M (exactly $1,042,752) Gaijin Entertainment
The Troop older $39.99 816 83% 24k $979k (exactly $978,955) Giant Flame
Sudden Strike 5 $49.99 641 75% 19k $961k (exactly $961,308) Kite Games
63 Days $29.99 413 72% 12k $372k (exactly $371,576) Destructive Creations
Trench Lord: Eastern Front $11.99 774 83% 23k $278k (exactly $278,408) Tracer Studio, LING YUN CO.,LTD.
Battleship Command · EA $24.99 278 93% 8.3k $208k (exactly $208,417) Bracer
Scramble: Battle of Britain · EA $29.99 209 88% 6.3k $188k (exactly $188,037) Slitherine Ltd.
Grit and Valor - 1949 $19.99 274 75% 8.2k $164k (exactly $164,318) Milky Tea Studios
Victory at Sea Atlantic - World War II Naval Warfare $39.99 92 60% 2.8k $110k (exactly $110,372) Evil Twin Artworks

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