Do I ship it?

Games › Grand Strategy › Grand Strategy + Tabletop

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tabletop Grand Strategy?

Grand Strategy + Tabletop

Of 26 developers who shipped a Tabletop 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: long shot, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.3 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, but 1 in 20 cleared $97k, ×65 the market median. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 26 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 26 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grand Strategy + Tabletop
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.1k → $628 → $2.2k → $299 → $899 → $179 (still earning) → $97k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grand Strategy + Tabletop: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $450 (exactly $450)
Top 25% $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 5% $97k (exactly $97,151)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 69
Announced 26
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.98

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 170% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Tabletop
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high 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, Tabletop; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Board Game
Price point
$9.98 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $9.98.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 1,208 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $450, 1 in 4 over $1.7k, 1 in 20 over $97k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 17 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. + 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. + 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

Ultimate General: Civil War 2017 · $7.5M Terraforming Mars 2018 · $3.1M Dune: Imperium 2024 · $2.6M Spirit Island 2020 · $1.2M A Game of Thrones: The Board Game - Digital Edition 2020 · $1.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ultimate General: Civil War older $29.99 8,331 88% 250k $7.5M (exactly $7,495,401) Game-Labs
Terraforming Mars older $19.99 5,194 71% 156k $3.1M (exactly $3,114,842) Artefacts Studio
Dune: Imperium older $22.99 3,806 94% 114k $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) Dire Wolf
Spirit Island older $24.99 1,545 91% 46k $1.2M (exactly $1,158,286) Handelabra Games Inc.
A Game of Thrones: The Board Game - Digital Edition older $19.99 1,705 71% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,022,488) Dire Wolf
Warhammer Underworlds - Shadespire Edition (Classic) older $29.99 1,059 70% 32k $953k (exactly $952,782) Steel Sky Productions, Tin Man Games
HackHub - Ultimate Hacker Simulator $16.99 937 88% 28k $478k (exactly $477,589) HotBunny
Tiny Civilization older $1.99 2,134 92% 64k $127k (exactly $127,400) 喜人一个
Mr. President $19.99 162 75% 4.9k $97k (exactly $97,151) Exia Labs
Fury of Dracula: Digital Edition older $12.99 213 72% 6.4k $83k (exactly $83,006) Nomad Games
SpaceCorp: 2025-2300AD $9.99 73 83% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,878) Logix Interactive
Battleships and Carriers 2: 1940-1945 $15.99 5 60% 150 $2.4k (exactly $2,398) SLS
Kingdom Dice $7.00 10 100% 300 $2.1k (exactly $2,100) DRD
Haulin' Oats $9.99 7 100% 210 $2.1k (exactly $2,098) Gramps Games
SmashOff $9.98 6 100% 180 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Mastarezma
Frontline: Afrika Korps $14.99 3 100% 90 $1.3k (exactly $1,349) Frontline: Games Series
ARB: Alien Races Battle · EA $10.00 3 33% 90 $900 (exactly $900) Raphael Tremblay
Old Salt $14.99 2 50% 60 $899 (exactly $899) Kneeshaw Developments, Never Board Games

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