Do I ship it?

GamesWargameWargame + Dark Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Wargame?

Wargame + Dark Fantasy

Of 23 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy 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.. 55 more are announced, ×5.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×234 the market median. Revenue is up 3910% on the market; 55 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 3910% on the market, 55 announced, ×5.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Wargame + Dark Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $3.0k → $120 → $628 → $23k → $103k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Wargame + Dark Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,010)
Top 25% $51k (exactly $50,649)
Top 5% $147k (exactly $146,716)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 64
Announced 55
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 3910% on the market, supply 25% fewer 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.

Wargame
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Dark Fantasy
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
Wargame; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $21.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $21.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 1,741 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $50k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Wargame with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Inventory ManagementFair21 devs · median $4.6k · 20 announced
  2. + Local MultiplayerFair28 devs · median $3.0k · 28 announced
  3. + NavalFair37 devs · median $2.4k · 37 announced
  4. + TabletopFair50 devs · median $1.1k · 57 announced
  5. + LogicFair20 devs · median $599 · 26 announced
  6. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds11 devs · median $37k · 24 announced
  7. + Real-TimePoor odds13 devs · median $37k · 17 announced
  8. + Co-opPoor odds43 devs · median $21k · 84 announced
  9. + StealthPoor odds10 devs · median $21k · 39 announced
  10. + DiplomacyPoor odds34 devs · median $17k · 59 announced
  11. + Colony SimPoor odds24 devs · median $16k · 55 announced
  12. + SandboxPoor odds82 devs · median $14k · 142 announced

All 147 pairs on the Wargame page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
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))
Solium Infernum older $39.99 1,571 88% 47k $1.9M (exactly $1,884,729) League of Geeks
Fantasy General II older $39.99 1,034 82% 31k $1.2M (exactly $1,240,490) Owned by Gravity
A Game of Thrones: The Board Game - Digital Edition older $19.99 1,705 71% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,022,488) Dire Wolf
Urtuk: The Desolation older $13.99 2,408 87% 72k $1.0M (exactly $1,010,638) David Kaleta
BRIGANDINE ABYSS $49.99 248 35% 7.4k $372k (exactly $371,926) Adglobe
Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars older $29.99 408 62% 12k $367k (exactly $367,078) Palindrome Interactive
Unmatched: Digital Edition older $22.99 274 74% 8.2k $189k (exactly $188,978) Dire Wolf
👑Idle Calibur:Zero💕(选王之剑:零) $10.99 445 80% 13k $147k (exactly $146,716) 绝汪
Liquidation RTS · EA $21.99 161 89% 4.8k $106k (exactly $106,212) Divio
Flowers and Deities $12.99 265 90% 8.0k $103k (exactly $103,270) Chill Winter Studio
STRANGER SAGA -Stranger Bach and Iskiyeld's Ambition- $9.89 225 86% 6.8k $67k (exactly $66,758) Retro Game Balance & Mechanics -レトロ… (Retro Game Balance & Mechanics -レトロゲームの手応えとバランスを追求するデザイン工房-)
Divine's Howl $9.99 169 89% 5.1k $51k (exactly $50,649) Sense13 Studio
Demigoddess! $6.99 111 97% 3.3k $23k (exactly $23,277) SNP Engineering
Ambitious Road $17.99 26 88% 780 $14k (exactly $14,032) 黒木道仁
Moonlight Chess $7.99 35 77% 1.1k $8.4k (exactly $8,390) MyDreamForever
Battle Synth $4.99 56 92% 1.7k $8.4k (exactly $8,383) Cow Games

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