Do I ship it?

GamesDiplomacyDiplomacy + Real Time Tactics

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Diplomacy Real Time Tactics?

Diplomacy + Real Time Tactics

Only 17 developers shipped a Diplomacy Real Time Tactics 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, The End of History, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 45 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 $6.0k, ×9.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $300k, ×490 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 45 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 45 announced, ×4.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Diplomacy + Real Time Tactics
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $579k → $3.0k → $85k → $100k → $4.8k (still earning) → $3.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Diplomacy + Real Time Tactics: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $3.3k (exactly $3,293)
Median $6.0k (exactly $5,992)
Top 25% $51k (exactly $50,974)
Top 5% $307k (exactly $307,440)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 62
Announced 45
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 down 30% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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.

Diplomacy
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Real Time Tactics
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
Diplomacy, Real Time Tactics; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Grand Strategy, Simulation, Strategy
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $28.00 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $28.00 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 1,426 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.3k, median $6.0k, 1 in 4 over $50k, 1 in 20 over $300k.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.3k. 6 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Diplomacy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Visual NovelFair16 devs · median $5.4k · 19 announced
  2. + Interactive FictionFair12 devs · median $1.0k · 17 announced
  3. + Space SimLong shot7 devs · median $360 · 14 announced
  4. + Open WorldPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8M · 38 announced
  5. + Base BuildingPoor odds19 devs · median $520k · 47 announced
  6. + PvPPoor odds10 devs · median $124k · 44 announced
  7. + SandboxPoor odds34 devs · median $116k · 89 announced
  8. + City BuilderPoor odds26 devs · median $108k · 47 announced
  9. + SurvivalPoor odds16 devs · median $100k · 28 announced
  10. + 4XPoor odds29 devs · median $86k · 79 announced
  11. + HistoricalPoor odds50 devs · median $79k · 92 announced
  12. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds30 devs · median $79k · 48 announced

All 57 pairs on the Diplomacy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dune: Spice Wars older $34.99 11,561 79% 347k $12M (exactly $12,135,582) Shiro Games
Total War: ROME REMASTERED older $29.99 12,627 77% 379k $11M (exactly $11,360,512) Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive
The Battle of Polytopia older $14.99 4,731 94% 142k $2.1M (exactly $2,127,531) Midjiwan AB
Cepheus Protocol · EA older $19.99 2,983 76% 89k $1.8M (exactly $1,788,905) Halcyon Winds
NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION: Sphere of Influence - Ascension older $59.99 814 73% 24k $1.5M (exactly $1,464,956) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION: Taishi older $59.99 804 51% 24k $1.4M (exactly $1,446,959) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Dummynation older $11.99 3,127 88% 94k $1.1M (exactly $1,124,782) Alejandro Hernández Ferrero
NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION: Sphere of Influence older $59.99 571 83% 17k $1.0M (exactly $1,027,629) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Medieval Kingdom Wars older $14.99 2,233 76% 67k $1.0M (exactly $1,004,180) Reverie World Studios
NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION: Souzou older $24.99 1,107 86% 33k $830k (exactly $829,918) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
The End of History · EA $28.00 366 68% 11k $307k (exactly $307,440) Tatamibeya
AfterWar $34.99 139 72% 4.2k $146k (exactly $145,908) Dmytro Lumen
King's Orders $14.99 257 70% 7.7k $116k (exactly $115,573) AFTERLIFE👻
Knights of the Crusades $19.99 166 69% 5.0k $100k (exactly $99,550) Reverie World Studios
Renaissance Kingdom Wars $19.99 141 70% 4.2k $85k (exactly $84,558) Reverie World Studios
Global Protocol: New World Order · EA $19.99 85 71% 2.6k $51k (exactly $50,974) Dorlion Interactive
Myths and Legends $17.99 54 92% 1.6k $29k (exactly $29,144) Artificial Worlds
Riftborne · EA $7.99 108 91% 3.2k $26k (exactly $25,888) Pitio Productions
Countryballs Conquest $4.99 85 87% 2.6k $13k (exactly $12,724) Indenial Games
Nuice Industries · EA $7.99 25 96% 750 $6.0k (exactly $5,992) CastleWind

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