Do I ship it?

Games › Strategy RPG › Strategy RPG + Hex Grid

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hex Grid Strategy RPG?

Strategy RPG + Hex Grid

Of 26 developers who shipped a Hex Grid Strategy RPG 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.. 60 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $10k, ×16 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $1.6M, ×2620 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 60 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 16.0 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 60 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy RPG + Hex Grid
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: $8.1k → $99k → $31k → $602k → $7.9k → $27k (still earning) → $2.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy RPG + Hex Grid: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $899 (exactly $899)
Median $10k (exactly $10,072)
Top 25% $294k (exactly $294,235)
Top 5% $1.6M (exactly $1,645,577)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 74
Announced 60
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $14.99

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 flat on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Strategy RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Hex Grid
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Strategy RPG, Hex Grid; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Turn-Based Strategy, Party-Based RPG
Price point
$14.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Isometric, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 12,841 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $10k, 1 in 4 over $290k, 1 in 20 over $1.6M.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 5 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + SportsFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 26 announced
  2. + SwordplayFair22 devs · median $2.7k · 28 announced
  3. + Bullet HellFair40 devs · median $2.0k · 31 announced
  4. + EconomyFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced
  5. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  6. + ConspiracyFair19 devs · median $1.2k · 21 announced
  7. + Shop KeeperFair21 devs · median $987 · 25 announced
  8. + 2D PlatformerFair108 devs · median $479 · 113 announced
  9. + Point & ClickFair43 devs · median $450 · 47 announced
  10. + Turn-BasedPoor odds58 devs · median $63k · 76 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds30 devs · median $35k · 41 announced
  12. + 4XPoor odds15 devs · median $31k · 33 announced

All 158 pairs on the Strategy RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

For The King 2018 · $19M Solasta II 2026 · EA · $3.5M The Last Flame 2025 · $1.6M Brigandine The Legend of Runersia 2022 · $1.6M Ascension 2025 · EA · $1.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
For The King older $19.99 31,038 87% 931k $19M (exactly $18,613,489) IronOak Games
Solasta II · EA $39.99 2,931 75% 88k $3.5M (exactly $3,516,321) Tactical Adventures
The Last Flame $19.99 2,744 85% 82k $1.6M (exactly $1,645,577) Hotloop
Brigandine The Legend of Runersia older $39.99 1,331 85% 40k $1.6M (exactly $1,596,801) Happinet, Matrix
Ascension · EA $19.99 2,437 60% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,461,469) Element Game 微元游戏
Sheltered 2 older $19.99 2,015 45% 60k $1.2M (exactly $1,208,396) Unicube
Psychic Kung Fu Master $19.99 1,723 60% 52k $1.0M (exactly $1,033,283) 金十四工作室
Urtuk: The Desolation older $13.99 2,408 87% 72k $1.0M (exactly $1,010,638) David Kaleta
Frosthaven · EA $39.99 814 72% 24k $977k (exactly $976,556) Snapshot Games Inc.
Tales & Tactics older $17.99 1,737 80% 52k $937k (exactly $937,459) Table 9 Studio
Those Who Rule $17.99 1,116 89% 33k $602k (exactly $602,305) Eldin Turulja
Disciples: Domination $44.99 218 65% 6.5k $294k (exactly $294,235) Artefacts Studio
Sandwalkers $19.99 490 73% 15k $294k (exactly $293,853) Goblinz Studio
Veterum $19.99 204 85% 6.1k $122k (exactly $122,339) Crasleen Games
Fight Life: Vanguard $11.99 164 69% 4.9k $59k (exactly $58,991) StartImpulse, Two Cakes Studio

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