Games › Crafting › Crafting + Wargame
Should I ship a Crafting Wargame?
Crafting + Wargame
Of 24 developers who shipped a Crafting Wargame 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.. 50 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×5.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×234 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 50 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.1k (exactly $3,148) |
| Top 25% | $50k (exactly $50,097) |
| Top 5% | $147k (exactly $146,926) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 63 |
| Announced | 50 |
| 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 90% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Crafting, Wargame; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Base Building, Sandbox
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 1,736 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Crafting with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + SportsFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + IdlerFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + WesternPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
This War of Mine 2014 · $49M 
Foxhole 2022 · $43M 
NavalArt 2018 · EA · $1.4M 
Fantasy Map Simulator 2024 · EA · $1.0M 
Medieval Kingdom Wars 2019 · $1.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | This War of Mine | older | $19.99 | 81,804 93% | 2.5M | $49M (exactly $49,057,859) | 11 bit studios |
| | Foxhole | older | $29.99 | 47,330 79% | 1.4M | $43M (exactly $42,582,801) | Siege Camp |
| | NavalArt | · EA older | $19.99 | 2,362 90% | 71k | $1.4M (exactly $1,416,491) | Rigidbody |
| | Fantasy Map Simulator | · EA older | $7.99 | 4,190 89% | 126k | $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) | The Stranger |
| | Medieval Kingdom Wars | older | $14.99 | 2,233 76% | 67k | $1.0M (exactly $1,004,180) | Reverie World Studios |
 | Primitive Society Simulator | · EA older | $19.99 | 647 83% | 19k | $388k (exactly $388,006) | YSH BigDove |
 | IDUN - Frontline Survival | $14.99 | 685 77% | 21k | $308k (exactly $308,044) | IDUN Interactive | |
 | SHIPS AT WAR | · EA older | $14.99 | 369 76% | 11k | $166k (exactly $165,939) | Golddorf Spieleentwicklung |
 | Dawn Apart | · EA | $19.99 | 245 68% | 7.4k | $147k (exactly $146,926) | Industrial Technology and Witchcraft |
 | WW2: Bunker Simulator | older | $11.99 | 372 74% | 11k | $134k (exactly $133,808) | BEPLAYER, Art Games Studio S.A. |
 | Knights of the Crusades | $19.99 | 166 69% | 5.0k | $100k (exactly $99,550) | Reverie World Studios | |
 | Territory Control 2 | · EA | $19.99 | 92 77% | 2.8k | $55k (exactly $55,172) | TFlippy, Knorrepot |
 | The Last King | · EA | $14.99 | 122 79% | 3.7k | $55k (exactly $54,863) | Mayawi software |
 | ShipCrafter | · EA | $7.99 | 209 90% | 6.3k | $50k (exactly $50,097) | Myrmecoman |
 | FULL METAL COFFIN | $4.99 | 137 94% | 4.1k | $21k (exactly $20,509) | Titanite, Mantle Array, Xenith | |
 | Shards of the Realm | $19.99 | 32 71% | 960 | $19k (exactly $19,190) | Yevhen Rebrakov | |
 | 2089 - Space Divided | $17.99 | 28 75% | 840 | $15k (exactly $15,112) | CoastGames GmbH | |
 | Towerfolk | · EA | $10.99 | 20 70% | 600 | $6.6k (exactly $6,594) | 99 Interactive |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.