Games › Grand Strategy › Grand Strategy + Procedural Generation
Should I ship a Procedural Generation Grand Strategy?
Grand Strategy + Procedural Generation
Of 25 developers who shipped a Procedural Generation 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.. 65 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.1k, ×4.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×88 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 65 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $3.3k (exactly $3,293) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.1k (exactly $6,138) |
| Top 25% | $30k (exactly $30,270) |
| Top 5% | $131k (exactly $131,334) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 74 |
| Announced | 65 |
| 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 down 40% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, 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
- Procedural Generation
- 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, Procedural Generation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Resource Management, 4X
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 3,173 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $3.3k. 6 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 65 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Grand Strategy with a different second tag, 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 
Galactic Civilizations III 2015 · $7.5M 
Phoenix Point 2020 · $4.0M 
Distant Worlds 2 2022 · $4.0M 
ZEPHON 2024 · $2.2M | 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 |
| | Galactic Civilizations III | older | $29.99 | 8,337 77% | 250k | $7.5M (exactly $7,500,799) | Stardock Entertainment |
| | Phoenix Point | older | $24.99 | 5,375 73% | 161k | $4.0M (exactly $4,029,637) | Snapshot Games Inc. |
| | Distant Worlds 2 | older | $49.99 | 2,653 72% | 80k | $4.0M (exactly $3,978,704) | CodeForce |
| | ZEPHON | $39.99 | 1,838 83% | 55k | $2.2M (exactly $2,205,049) | Proxy Studios | |
 | City of Gangsters | older | $29.99 | 1,332 73% | 40k | $1.2M (exactly $1,198,400) | SomaSim |
 | City Game Studio: Your Game Dev Adventure Begins | older | $19.99 | 1,779 91% | 53k | $1.1M (exactly $1,066,866) | Binogure Studio 🐺 |
 | Fantasy Map Simulator | · EA older | $7.99 | 4,190 89% | 126k | $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) | The Stranger |
 | Interstellar Space: Genesis | older | $29.99 | 712 83% | 21k | $641k (exactly $640,586) | Praxis Games |
 | Imperiums: Greek Wars | older | $29.99 | 453 83% | 14k | $408k (exactly $407,564) | Kube Games |
 | Yield! Fall of Rome | $19.99 | 219 69% | 6.6k | $131k (exactly $131,334) | Billionworlds | |
 | Project Rebearth | $17.99 | 184 70% | 5.5k | $99k (exactly $99,305) | Program Sam | |
 | DSS 2: War Industry | $17.99 | 183 83% | 5.5k | $99k (exactly $98,765) | vikingfabian | |
 | Idle Deepcore | $6.99 | 365 85% | 11k | $77k (exactly $76,540) | Bluehood Games | |
 | Solar Wave | · EA | $17.99 | 80 75% | 2.4k | $43k (exactly $43,176) | SavGus Studio |
 | Sanguo's Ambition 4 :Three Kingdoms | $9.99 | 101 68% | 3.0k | $30k (exactly $30,270) | Youshen Interactive | |
 | Astro Protocol | $11.99 | 66 93% | 2.0k | $24k (exactly $23,740) | Null Vector Studios | |
 | Kiloton | $6.99 | 103 96% | 3.1k | $22k (exactly $21,599) | Jack Morehart | |
 | Stellar Reach | $19.99 | 34 79% | 1.0k | $20k (exactly $20,390) | Stelleas |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.