Do I ship it?

Games › Grand Strategy › Grand Strategy + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Grand Strategy?

Grand Strategy + Dystopian

Only 15 developers shipped a Dystopian Grand Strategy 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, Crisis in the Kremlin: The Cold War, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 12 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.0k, ×2.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×112 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 12 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 12 announced, ×1.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grand Strategy + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $13k → $4.0k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grand Strategy + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $4.0k (exactly $4,039)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $21,599)
Top 5% $167k (exactly $167,311)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 28
Announced 12
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 85% on the market, supply 175% more 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Grand Strategy
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Dystopian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Grand Strategy; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Political Sim, Simulation, RTS
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 1980s, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 1,462 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $4.0k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 12 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RoguelikeFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  2. + SportsFair21 devs · median $2.1k · 26 announced
  3. + RogueliteFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  4. + CrimeFair8 devs · median $1.9k · 13 announced
  5. + RacingFair8 devs · median $1.8k · 7 announced
  6. + IncrementalFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 27 announced
  7. + Artificial IntelligenceLong shot21 devs · median $750 · 38 announced
  8. + TabletopLong shot26 devs · median $450 · 26 announced
  9. + Turn-BasedPoor odds19 devs · median $131k · 20 announced
  10. + SandboxPoor odds59 devs · median $51k · 125 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds15 devs · median $37k · 29 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds54 devs · median $34k · 117 announced

All 104 pairs on the Grand Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Dune: Imperium 2024 · $2.6M Shadows of Forbidden Gods 2023 · $627k Crisis in the Kremlin: The Cold War 2025 · $167k This Is the President 2021 · $161k Extinction Day 2026 · $124k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dune: Imperium older $22.99 3,806 94% 114k $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) Dire Wolf
Shadows of Forbidden Gods older $19.99 1,046 91% 31k $627k (exactly $627,286) Bobby Two Hands
Crisis in the Kremlin: The Cold War $7.99 698 80% 21k $167k (exactly $167,311) Nostalgames
This Is the President older $14.99 359 67% 11k $161k (exactly $161,442) SuperPAC
Extinction Day $19.99 206 74% 6.2k $124k (exactly $123,538) DryGin Studios
Fall of an Empire $29.99 80 67% 2.4k $72k (exactly $71,976) JG Games
COVID: The Outbreak older $13.99 85 70% 2.6k $36k (exactly $35,674) Jujubee S.A.
場外人生 · EA older $2.99 315 90% 9.5k $28k (exactly $28,256) YuruOwO
Kiloton $6.99 103 96% 3.1k $22k (exactly $21,599) Jack Morehart
Trump Simulator 2025 $3.99 106 91% 3.2k $13k (exactly $12,688) Luke Gayson
Dictator Simulator: Gradnar $4.99 84 97% 2.5k $13k (exactly $12,575) GortagonGame
Statecraft: Corrupted Democracy $9.99 33 90% 990 $9.9k (exactly $9,890) Engincan Çiçek, Bad Engine Studio
Носковраздор $0.99 136 51% 4.1k $4.0k (exactly $4,039) BMBK Games
Doctrine: C.U.L.T. $4.99 13 69% 390 $1.9k (exactly $1,946) Miracles on a Stick
Supreme Ruler Global Outbreak $19.99 3 66% 90 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) BattleGoat Studios

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