Do I ship it?

GamesImmersive SimImmersive Sim + RTS

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 69 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + RTS
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $47k → $16k → $11k → $3.9k → $41k → $2.5k → $11k (still earning) → $30 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + RTS: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
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.

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.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $390, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $70k, 1 in 20 over $5.6M.

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.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Immersive Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds112 devs · median $63k · 58 announced
  2. + Trading Card GameStrong odds18 devs · median $30k · 13 announced
  3. + MinigamesStrong odds15 devs · median $24k · 11 announced
  4. + WesternStrong odds17 devs · median $4.4k · 14 announced
  5. + BoxingStrong odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 12 announced
  6. + Job SimulatorFair152 devs · median $20k · 180 announced
  7. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $17k · 10 announced
  8. + Dating SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  9. + RomanceFair254 devs · median $12k · 266 announced
  10. + LGBTQ+Fair87 devs · median $11k · 93 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  12. + Split ScreenFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced

All 219 pairs on the Immersive Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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.