Games › Grand Strategy › Grand Strategy + Futuristic
Should I ship a Futuristic Grand Strategy?
Grand Strategy + Futuristic
Of 24 developers who shipped a Futuristic Grand Strategy 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.. 40 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×2.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×183 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 40 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) |
| Top 25% | $8.4k (exactly $8,396) |
| Top 5% | $274k (exactly $273,867) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 100 |
| Announced | 40 |
| 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 80% on the market, supply 40% 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.
- Grand Strategy
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Futuristic
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Grand Strategy; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Strategy, RTS
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 2,203 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 7 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Grand Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RoguelikeFair
- + SportsFair
- + RogueliteFair
- + CrimeFair
- + RacingFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceLong shot
- + TabletopLong shot
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
Stellaris 2016 · $210M 
Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™ 2014 · $17M 
Planetary Annihilation: TITANS 2015 · $10M 
Galactic Civilizations III 2015 · $7.5M 
Supreme Commander 2 2010 · $3.3M | 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 |
| | Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™ | older | $39.99 | 14,047 61% | 421k | $17M (exactly $16,852,186) | Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linu… (Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux)) |
| | Planetary Annihilation: TITANS | older | $29.99 | 11,401 84% | 342k | $10M (exactly $10,257,480) | Planetary Annihilation Inc |
| | Galactic Civilizations III | older | $29.99 | 8,337 77% | 250k | $7.5M (exactly $7,500,799) | Stardock Entertainment |
| | Supreme Commander 2 | older | $12.99 | 8,349 87% | 250k | $3.3M (exactly $3,253,605) | Gas Powered Games |
 | Carrier Command 2 | older | $29.99 | 3,444 82% | 103k | $3.1M (exactly $3,098,567) | Geometa |
 | Galactic Civilizations IV | older | $39.99 | 2,207 72% | 66k | $2.6M (exactly $2,647,738) | Stardock Entertainment |
 | Dune: Imperium | older | $22.99 | 3,806 94% | 114k | $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) | Dire Wolf |
 | ENDLESS Space™ - Definitive Edition | older | $9.99 | 6,626 79% | 199k | $2.0M (exactly $1,985,812) | AMPLITUDE Studios |
 | ICBM: Escalation | $29.99 | 1,248 86% | 37k | $1.1M (exactly $1,122,826) | SoftWarWare | |
 | Solar Nations 2 | · EA | $14.99 | 609 85% | 18k | $274k (exactly $273,867) | Flomgus Games |
 | Solar Wave | · EA | $17.99 | 80 75% | 2.4k | $43k (exactly $43,176) | SavGus Studio |
 | Stellar Reach | $19.99 | 34 79% | 1.0k | $20k (exactly $20,390) | Stelleas | |
 | Globalism | · EA | $29.99 | 17 52% | 510 | $15k (exactly $15,295) | igelanium games |
 | Galactum Meridian | · EA | $19.99 | 14 14% | 420 | $8.4k (exactly $8,396) | Hedra Games |
 | Periphery Online | $4.99 | 50 72% | 1.5k | $7.5k (exactly $7,485) | Aleksandr Nagaev | |
 | HARD VOID | · EA | $19.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $4.8k (exactly $4,798) | jejoxdev |
 | Носковраздор | $0.99 | 136 51% | 4.1k | $4.0k (exactly $4,039) | BMBK Games | |
 | Scionide | · EA | $14.99 | 7 71% | 210 | $3.1k (exactly $3,148) | SYONIX |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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