Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + RTS
Should I ship an RTS Immersive Sim?
Immersive Sim + RTS
Of 40 developers who shipped an RTS Immersive Sim 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.. 69 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×1.7 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $5.6M, ×3746 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 69 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $390 (exactly $390) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) |
| Top 25% | $70k (exactly $70,153) |
| Top 5% | $5.6M (exactly $5,611,465) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 123 |
| Announced | 69 |
| Effort | 8 / 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 flat on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Immersive Sim
- effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
- RTS
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Immersive Sim, RTS; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Simulation, Building
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 30,313 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $390. 7 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 69 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Immersive Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Trading Card GameStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + WesternStrong odds
- + BoxingStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + RomanceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Split ScreenFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Kenshi | older | $29.99 | 98,451 95% | 3.0M | $89M (exactly $88,576,365) | Lo-Fi Games |
| | Farthest Frontier | $34.99 | 24,444 86% | 733k | $26M (exactly $25,658,867) | Crate Entertainment | |
| | Infection Free Zone | · EA older | $24.99 | 16,568 80% | 497k | $12M (exactly $12,421,030) | Jutsu Games |
| | Sins of a Solar Empire II | older | $49.99 | 7,147 83% | 214k | $11M (exactly $10,718,356) | Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock En… (Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock Entertainment) |
| | Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII | older | $59.99 | 5,828 57% | 175k | $10M (exactly $10,488,652) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
| | ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS 8 REMAKE | $59.99 | 3,118 49% | 94k | $5.6M (exactly $5,611,465) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
| | 112 Operator | older | $24.99 | 5,688 88% | 171k | $4.3M (exactly $4,264,294) | Jutsu Games |
| | NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION: Awakening | older | $59.99 | 2,320 74% | 70k | $4.2M (exactly $4,175,304) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
| | Breakout 13 | older | $9.99 | 6,899 87% | 207k | $2.1M (exactly $2,067,630) | ALT Lab |
| | NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION: Sphere of Influence - Ascension | older | $59.99 | 814 73% | 24k | $1.5M (exactly $1,464,956) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
| | Modern Naval Warfare | · EA | $59.99 | 237 58% | 7.1k | $427k (exactly $426,529) | Wave Ops |
| | Crown of Greed | $19.99 | 680 60% | 20k | $408k (exactly $407,796) | BLUM Entertainment | |
| | Builders of Greece | $19.99 | 537 54% | 16k | $322k (exactly $322,039) | BLUM Entertainment, Strategy Labs | |
| | Builders of Egypt | $19.99 | 461 31% | 14k | $276k (exactly $276,462) | Strategy Labs | |
| | Of Life and Land | $24.99 | 288 82% | 8.6k | $216k (exactly $215,914) | Kerzoven | |
| | King of Retail 2 | · EA | $19.99 | 275 79% | 8.3k | $165k (exactly $164,918) | Freaking Games |
| | Sherman Commander | $29.99 | 117 64% | 3.5k | $105k (exactly $105,265) | Iron Wolf Studio S.A. | |
| | Barely Working | · EA | $14.99 | 156 91% | 4.7k | $70k (exactly $70,153) | Deep Games LLC |
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.