Games › Strategy › Strategy + Dystopian
Should I ship a Dystopian Strategy game?
Strategy + Dystopian
Of 157 developers who shipped a Dystopian Strategy game 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.. 344 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $330; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×579 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 344 games are announced against 96 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $330 (exactly $330) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,169) |
| Top 25% | $9.9k (exactly $9,890) |
| Top 5% | $364k (exactly $363,625) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 157 |
| Released games | 370 |
| Announced | 344 |
| 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 15% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, RPG
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 24,536 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $330. 7 in 10 of the 67 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 344 games are announced against 96 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
Comparable games
Papers, Please 2013 · $22M 
Hardspace: Shipbreaker 2022 · $20M 
Infection Free Zone 2024 · EA · $12M 
Beholder 2016 · $9.7M 
Quasimorph 2026 · $5.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Papers, Please | older | $9.99 | 73,406 97% | 2.2M | $22M (exactly $21,999,778) | Lucas Pope |
| | Hardspace: Shipbreaker | older | $34.99 | 19,431 89% | 583k | $20M (exactly $20,396,721) | Blackbird Interactive |
| | Infection Free Zone | · EA older | $24.99 | 16,568 80% | 497k | $12M (exactly $12,421,030) | Jutsu Games |
| | Beholder | older | $13.99 | 23,199 91% | 696k | $9.7M (exactly $9,736,620) | Alawar Stargaze (Warm Lamp Games) |
| | Quasimorph | $24.99 | 7,196 82% | 216k | $5.4M (exactly $5,394,841) | Magnum Scriptum | |
 | Do Not Feed the Monkeys | older | $15.99 | 10,376 93% | 311k | $5.0M (exactly $4,977,367) | Fictiorama Studios |
 | Shadowrun Returns | older | $14.99 | 9,521 88% | 286k | $4.3M (exactly $4,281,594) | Harebrained Schemes |
 | Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance | older | $39.99 | 3,395 82% | 102k | $4.1M (exactly $4,072,982) | Slitherine Ltd. |
 | Beholder 2 | older | $17.99 | 6,865 87% | 206k | $3.7M (exactly $3,705,040) | Alawar Stargaze (Warm Lamp Games) |
 | Dune: Imperium | older | $22.99 | 3,806 94% | 114k | $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) | Dire Wolf |
 | Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator | $12.99 | 5,191 92% | 156k | $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) | Aluba Van+ | |
 | Beholder: Conductor | $13.99 | 4,532 91% | 136k | $1.9M (exactly $1,902,080) | Alawar | |
 | As We Descend | · EA | $19.99 | 1,336 86% | 40k | $801k (exactly $801,199) | Box Dragon |
 | After Inc: Revival | $17.99 | 1,480 77% | 44k | $799k (exactly $798,756) | Ndemic Creations | |
 | Pronoun Palace | $19.84 | 1,249 99% | 37k | $743k (exactly $743,405) | Cadence Petersen, Hazel Fackler | |
 | Chains of Freedom | $24.99 | 520 80% | 16k | $390k (exactly $389,844) | Nordcurrent | |
 | FACEMINER | $7.99 | 1,517 90% | 46k | $364k (exactly $363,625) | Wristwork | |
 | Q-UP | $9.99 | 1,126 93% | 34k | $337k (exactly $337,462) | Everybody House Games | |
 | Ark of Charon | $24.99 | 389 75% | 12k | $292k (exactly $291,633) | Angoo Inc., SUNSOFT |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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