Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror RTS?

RTS + Horror

Of 20 developers who shipped a Horror RTS 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.. 27 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×1.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 8180% on the market; 27 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 8180% on the market, 27 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $150 → $151k → $300 → $114k → $2.4k (still earning) → $14k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,398)
Top 25% $27k (exactly $27,279)
Top 5% $749k (exactly $749,486)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 61
Announced 27
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 8180% on the market, supply 135% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

RTS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Horror
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
RTS; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Management, Real Time Tactics
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 2,268 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $740k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

RTS with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomeFair12 devs · median $64k · 13 announced
  2. + Outbreak SimFair16 devs · median $2.6k · 14 announced
  3. + NavalFair15 devs · median $2.4k · 21 announced
  4. + TabletopFair25 devs · median $1.9k · 33 announced
  5. + SportsLong shot19 devs · median $861 · 9 announced
  6. + PuzzleLong shot48 devs · median $479 · 40 announced
  7. + World War IIPoor odds23 devs · median $105k · 38 announced
  8. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds28 devs · median $64k · 41 announced
  9. + Open WorldPoor odds45 devs · median $35k · 100 announced
  10. + Colony SimPoor odds87 devs · median $31k · 159 announced
  11. + HistoricalPoor odds108 devs · median $30k · 180 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds23 devs · median $22k · 48 announced

All 149 pairs on the RTS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Lobotomy Corporation | Monster Management Simulation 2018 · $39M Aliens: Dark Descent 2023 · $18M Dungeons 3 2017 · $11M Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance 2024 · $4.1M Breakout 13 2023 · $2.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lobotomy Corporation | Monster Management Simulation older $24.99 52,522 94% 1.6M $39M (exactly $39,375,743) ProjectMoon
Aliens: Dark Descent older $39.99 15,310 87% 459k $18M (exactly $18,367,407) Tindalos Interactive
Dungeons 3 older $29.99 12,648 93% 379k $11M (exactly $11,379,406) Realmforge Studios
Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance older $39.99 3,395 82% 102k $4.1M (exactly $4,072,982) Slitherine Ltd.
Breakout 13 older $9.99 6,899 87% 207k $2.1M (exactly $2,067,630) ALT Lab
Bio Inc. Redemption older $12.99 3,051 87% 92k $1.2M (exactly $1,188,975) DryGin Studios
Command & Conquer™ 4 Tiberian Twilight older $6.96 4,832 16% 145k $1.0M (exactly $1,008,922) EA Los Angeles
DarkSwitch $34.99 714 77% 21k $749k (exactly $749,486) Cyber Temple
Sea Salt older $14.99 623 77% 19k $280k (exactly $280,163) YCJY Games
Yokai Art: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons older $6.99 1,132 89% 34k $237k (exactly $237,380) Secret Labo
Xenopurge $12.49 419 84% 13k $157k (exactly $156,999) Traptics
After Long Night $9.99 381 72% 11k $114k (exactly $114,186) 疯狗工作室
Yokai Art 2: Tales of the Nine-Tails $9.99 314 75% 9.4k $94k (exactly $94,106) Secret Labo
Ghost Keeper $12.99 70 75% 2.1k $27k (exactly $27,279) Quest Craft
ShoreTiles $6.99 90 74% 2.7k $19k (exactly $18,873) Voxel Studios
Aestheta $2.99 198 89% 5.9k $18k (exactly $17,761) AploveStudio
Stoneguard · EA $6.99 66 75% 2.0k $14k (exactly $13,840) Thorn Spire Games
Haunted Dorm $10.99 8 50% 240 $2.6k (exactly $2,638) mihuangame
VeilWood $9.99 8 87% 240 $2.4k (exactly $2,398) Chaos Cabin

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