Should I ship a Demon RTS?
RTS + Demons
Only 13 developers shipped a Demon RTS in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Night is Coming, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 29 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.8k, ×2.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×194 the market median. Revenue is up 3790% on the market; 29 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $719 (exactly $719) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.8k (exactly $3,838) |
| Top 25% | $27k (exactly $27,279) |
| Top 5% | $290k (exactly $290,134) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 34 |
| Announced | 29 |
| 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 3790% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- RTS; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Tactical, Action
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Isometric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 69% positive over 991 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 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 2016 · $58M 
Dungeons 4 2023 · $3.6M 
Night is Coming 2025 · EA · $290k 
Sea Salt 2019 · $280k 
Yokai Art: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons 2022 · $237k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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 4 | older | $49.99 | 2,392 86% | 72k | $3.6M (exactly $3,587,282) | Realmforge Studios |
| | Night is Coming | · EA | $24.99 | 387 59% | 12k | $290k (exactly $290,134) | Wild Forest Studio |
| | Sea Salt | older | $14.99 | 623 77% | 19k | $280k (exactly $280,163) | YCJY Games |
| | Yokai Art: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons | older | $6.99 | 1,132 89% | 34k | $237k (exactly $237,380) | Secret Labo |
 | Wartorn | $34.99 | 130 73% | 3.9k | $136k (exactly $136,461) | Stray Kite Studios | |
 | Epic Fantasy Battle Simulator | · EA older | $9.99 | 426 84% | 13k | $128k (exactly $127,672) | Mutiny Software |
 | Yokai Art 2: Tales of the Nine-Tails | $9.99 | 314 75% | 9.4k | $94k (exactly $94,106) | Secret Labo | |
 | Horror Tycoon | · EA older | $14.99 | 90 61% | 2.7k | $40k (exactly $40,473) | Smidge Games LLC |
 | Blade Prince Academy | older | $19.99 | 58 65% | 1.7k | $35k (exactly $34,783) | Angel Corp |
 | Ghost Keeper | $12.99 | 70 75% | 2.1k | $27k (exactly $27,279) | Quest Craft | |
 | Flow Of War | $12.99 | 40 85% | 1.2k | $16k (exactly $15,588) | Rongcon Games | |
 | Monolilith | · EA | $7.99 | 17 88% | 510 | $4.1k (exactly $4,075) | Malerouille |
 | Just Move Fall Dungeon Endless Abyss | $15.99 | 8 50% | 240 | $3.8k (exactly $3,838) | daminggede | |
 | Notice Me Leena-senpai! | $7.99 | 11 81% | 330 | $2.6k (exactly $2,637) | Yanako RPGs, GameDevTosh | |
 | Spirit of the Dome | $2.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $897 (exactly $897) | Deformed Studios | |
 | HyperCoven | $5.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $719 (exactly $719) | Hyperkobel |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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