Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management RTS?

RTS + Inventory Management

Of 25 developers who shipped an Inventory Management 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.. 36 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×3.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $510k, ×341 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 36 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 36 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $598 → $8.6k → $2.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $4.5k (exactly $4,491)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $16,452)
Top 5% $511k (exactly $510,859)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 47
Announced 36
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 down 35% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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
RTS, Inventory Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Combat, Management
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 5,182 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $4.5k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $510k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomeFair12 devs · median $64k · 13 announced
  2. + Outbreak SimFair16 devs · median $2.6k · 14 announced
  3. + HorrorFair20 devs · median $2.4k · 27 announced
  4. + NavalFair15 devs · median $2.4k · 21 announced
  5. + TabletopFair25 devs · median $1.9k · 33 announced
  6. + SportsLong shot19 devs · median $861 · 9 announced
  7. + PuzzleLong shot48 devs · median $479 · 40 announced
  8. + World War IIPoor odds23 devs · median $105k · 38 announced
  9. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds28 devs · median $64k · 41 announced
  10. + Open WorldPoor odds45 devs · median $35k · 100 announced
  11. + Colony SimPoor odds87 devs · median $31k · 159 announced
  12. + HistoricalPoor odds108 devs · median $30k · 180 announced

All 149 pairs on the RTS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront 2021 · $34M Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes 2026 · $864k Knightica 2025 · $511k Outworld Station 2026 · $460k Ratten Reich 2025 · $369k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront older $34.99 32,183 85% 965k $34M (exactly $33,782,495) Barbedwire Studios, Digitalmindsoft
Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes $14.99 1,921 90% 58k $864k (exactly $863,874) Cats Who Play
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games
Outworld Station $18.99 807 84% 24k $460k (exactly $459,748) Trickjump Games Ltd
Ratten Reich $19.99 616 40% 18k $369k (exactly $369,415) METALLADLERSTUDIO
Air Defender · EA $20.19 364 78% 11k $220k (exactly $220,475) ROTOR3
Final Factory · EA older $18.99 286 78% 8.6k $163k (exactly $162,934) Never Games Limited
Ancient Space older $19.99 270 42% 8.1k $162k (exactly $161,919) CreativeForge Games
REAL ESTATE Simulator - FROM BUM TO MILLIONAIRE older $12.99 175 44% 5.3k $68k (exactly $68,198) Geekon
Bunker Defense older $24.99 43 83% 1.3k $32k (exactly $32,237) Goodvole
The First Million $6.99 101 75% 3.0k $21k (exactly $21,180) Sonderland
Harpoon Classic '97 $8.99 61 83% 1.8k $16k (exactly $16,452) Alliance Interactive
INSANIO $9.99 48 66% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,386) somebody
FolkOrigin $7.99 36 88% 1.1k $8.6k (exactly $8,629) LukaszD
East Trade Tycoon: Inheritance $2.99 92 92% 2.8k $8.3k (exactly $8,252) PandaUpStudio

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