Games › RTS › RTS + Dark Fantasy
Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy RTS?
RTS + Dark Fantasy
Of 40 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy RTS 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.. 104 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $4.0M, ×2704 the market median. Revenue is up 460% on the market; 104 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,153) |
| Top 25% | $63k (exactly $62,508) |
| Top 5% | $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 103 |
| Announced | 104 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 460% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- RTS
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Dark Fantasy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- RTS; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, Tower Defense
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $27.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $27.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 23,637 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 104 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RTS with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Outbreak SimFair
- + HorrorFair
- + NavalFair
- + TabletopFair
- + SportsLong shot
- + PuzzleLong shot
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
Comparable games
Total War: WARHAMMER III 2022 · $189M 
Total War: WARHAMMER II 2017 · $153M 
Total War: WARHAMMER 2016 · $58M 
Dungeons 3 2017 · $11M 
Age of Darkness: Final Stand 2025 · $8.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Total War: WARHAMMER III | older | $59.99 | 104,822 71% | 3.1M | $189M (exactly $188,648,153) | CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive |
| | Total War: WARHAMMER II | older | $59.99 | 85,134 92% | 2.6M | $153M (exactly $153,215,660) | CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (M… (CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)) |
| | Total War: WARHAMMER | older | $59.99 | 32,105 79% | 963k | $58M (exactly $57,779,368) | CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (L… (CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Linux), Feral Interactive (Mac)) |
| | Dungeons 3 | older | $29.99 | 12,648 93% | 379k | $11M (exactly $11,379,406) | Realmforge Studios |
| | Age of Darkness: Final Stand | $27.99 | 9,486 74% | 285k | $8.0M (exactly $7,965,394) | PlaySide | |
 | The King is Watching | $14.99 | 9,006 88% | 270k | $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) | Hypnohead | |
 | Battlefleet Gothic: Armada (Classic) | older | $14.99 | 5,135 68% | 154k | $2.3M (exactly $2,309,210) | Tindalos Interactive |
 | Nordhold | $19.99 | 2,875 87% | 86k | $1.7M (exactly $1,724,137) | StunForge | |
 | Gord | older | $49.99 | 809 53% | 24k | $1.2M (exactly $1,213,257) | Covenant.dev |
 | Overlord II | older | $9.99 | 4,002 89% | 120k | $1.2M (exactly $1,199,399) | Triumph Studios |
 | DarkSwitch | $34.99 | 714 77% | 21k | $749k (exactly $749,486) | Cyber Temple | |
 | Crown of Greed | $19.99 | 680 60% | 20k | $408k (exactly $407,796) | BLUM Entertainment | |
 | Wartorn | $34.99 | 130 73% | 3.9k | $136k (exactly $136,461) | Stray Kite Studios | |
 | Liquidation RTS | · EA | $21.99 | 161 89% | 4.8k | $106k (exactly $106,212) | Divio |
 | Moon Corona | · EA | $13.99 | 210 82% | 6.3k | $88k (exactly $88,137) | 不倒龙工作室, Budaolong Studio |
 | The Gate Must Stand | $9.99 | 236 78% | 7.1k | $71k (exactly $70,729) | Senmu Studio | |
 | Lewd Dungeon Manager 🔞 | $14.99 | 139 66% | 4.2k | $63k (exactly $62,508) | Lewd Star |
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.