Do I ship it?

Games › Grand Strategy › Grand Strategy + Sports

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sports Grand Strategy?

Grand Strategy + Sports

Of 21 developers who shipped a Sports 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.. 26 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.4k. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 26 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 26 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grand Strategy + Sports
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $12k → $3.9k → $46k → $4.2k → $3.3k (still earning) → $21k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grand Strategy + Sports: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,336)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,096)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $10,796)
Top 5% $69k (exactly $68,966)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 81
Announced 26
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 95% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 2%, 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
Sports
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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, Sports; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 653 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.4k, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $68k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. Nearly all of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Grand Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RoguelikeFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  2. + RogueliteFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  3. + CrimeFair8 devs · median $1.9k · 13 announced
  4. + RacingFair8 devs · median $1.8k · 7 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 27 announced
  6. + Artificial IntelligenceLong shot21 devs · median $750 · 38 announced
  7. + TabletopLong shot26 devs · median $450 · 26 announced
  8. + Turn-BasedPoor odds19 devs · median $131k · 20 announced
  9. + SandboxPoor odds59 devs · median $51k · 125 announced
  10. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds15 devs · median $37k · 29 announced
  11. + DiplomacyPoor odds54 devs · median $34k · 117 announced
  12. + NavalPoor odds8 devs · median $27k · 17 announced

All 104 pairs on the Grand Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

GOAL! The Club Manager 2022 · EA · $327k Starters Orders 7 Horse Racing 2019 · $175k Age of Gladiators 2016 · $170k Horse Racing Manager 2025 · EA · $156k Axis Football 2024 2023 · $124k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
GOAL! The Club Manager · EA older $29.99 364 33% 11k $327k (exactly $327,491) 2tainment
Starters Orders 7 Horse Racing older $34.99 167 77% 5.0k $175k (exactly $175,300) Strategic Designs Ltd.
Age of Gladiators older $7.99 709 77% 21k $170k (exactly $169,947) Creative Storm Entertainment
Horse Racing Manager · EA $24.99 208 88% 6.2k $156k (exactly $155,938) Sheep Meadow Road Games
Axis Football 2024 older $19.99 207 71% 6.2k $124k (exactly $124,138) Axis Games
Rugby Union Team Manager 4 older $39.99 60 70% 1.8k $72k (exactly $71,982) Alternative Software Ltd
Axis Football 2026 $19.99 115 75% 3.5k $69k (exactly $68,966) Axis Games
Tennis Manager 25 $19.99 76 68% 2.3k $46k (exactly $45,577) Rebound
Hockey Manager 20|20 older $19.99 76 61% 2.3k $46k (exactly $45,577) netmin games
Club Manager 2016 older $19.99 66 50% 2.0k $40k (exactly $39,580) BigBlaze Games
Axis Football 2027 $19.99 44 72% 1.3k $26k (exactly $26,387) Axis Games
International Basketball Manager 26 $19.99 37 72% 1.1k $22k (exactly $22,189) UPLAY Basketball
Goal Idle · EA $6.99 101 74% 3.0k $21k (exactly $21,180) Royue Games
EmberStride $29.99 12 91% 360 $11k (exactly $10,796) Sharkgame
Pro Football · EA $11.99 22 100% 660 $7.9k (exactly $7,913) Dayra Studio
Gold Defence $9.99 20 65% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Gamesforgames
Coastal Summit Sports: College Hockey 26 $9.99 18 83% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) Coastal Summit Sports

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