Do I ship it?

GamesDiplomacyDiplomacy + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi Diplomacy game?

Diplomacy + Sci-fi

Only 12 developers shipped a Sci-fi Diplomacy game 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, Realpolitiks 3: Earth and Beyond, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 39 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×302 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 39 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 39 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Diplomacy + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $15k → $3.6k → $40k → $419 → $564 (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Diplomacy + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Top 25% $39k (exactly $38,674)
Top 5% $190k (exactly $189,674)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 65
Announced 39
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 400% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Sci-fi
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 59% positive over 559 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $38k, 1 in 20 over $180k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 39 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Diplomacy with a different setting or mood, 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
Stellaris older $49.99 139,718 85% 4.2M $210M (exactly $209,535,085) Paradox Development Studio
Dune: Spice Wars older $34.99 11,561 79% 347k $12M (exactly $12,135,582) Shiro Games
HighFleet older $29.99 7,024 88% 211k $6.3M (exactly $6,319,493) Konstantin Koshutin
Sins of a Solar Empire®: Rebellion older $19.99 10,243 93% 307k $6.1M (exactly $6,142,727) Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock En… (Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock Entertainment)
Galactic Civilizations IV older $39.99 2,207 72% 66k $2.6M (exactly $2,647,738) Stardock Entertainment
ENDLESS Space™ - Definitive Edition older $9.99 6,626 79% 199k $2.0M (exactly $1,985,812) AMPLITUDE Studios
Interstellar Space: Genesis older $29.99 712 83% 21k $641k (exactly $640,586) Praxis Games
The Fermi Paradox · EA older $18.99 956 76% 29k $545k (exactly $544,633) Anomaly Games
Nexus 5X older $14.99 884 90% 27k $398k (exactly $397,535) Whatboy Games
Star Dynasties older $30.99 421 70% 13k $391k (exactly $391,404) Pawley Games
Realpolitiks 3: Earth and Beyond $24.99 253 39% 7.6k $190k (exactly $189,674) Jujubee
Galaxy Princess Zorana $24.99 154 88% 4.6k $115k (exactly $115,454) Hanako Games
Lunar Ascendant $14.99 86 44% 2.6k $39k (exactly $38,674) Darts Games
Donutal $9.99 30 93% 900 $9.0k (exactly $8,991) Arc System Works
Alexandria IV $11.99 5 80% 150 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) J. M. Beraldo, Time Galleon
Space Trader Corps $9.99 5 100% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) D Squires
Eon Empires $9.99 4 50% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) Aeonforge Studio
Mark's Power $0.99 19 73% 570 $564 (exactly $564) Dmitriy Zaletov
Junkyard Universe $6.99 2 100% 60 $419 (exactly $419) Sarah Dressel
GalactiWar - Empire Simulator $11.99 1 100% 30 $360 (exactly $360) Silver

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