Games › RTS › RTS + Local Multiplayer
Should I ship a Local Multiplayer RTS?
RTS + Local Multiplayer
Of 20 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer 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.. 20 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×1.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60; 1 in 20 cleared $98k, ×66 the market median. Revenue is up 13335% on the market; 20 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $60 (exactly $60) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $5.5k (exactly $5,456) |
| Top 5% | $99k (exactly $98,765) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 20 |
| Released games | 67 |
| Announced | 20 |
| 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 up 13335% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Local Multiplayer
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- RTS, Local Multiplayer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Tactical, PvP
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 1990's, 2.5D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 588 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $60. All of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RTS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Outbreak SimFair
- + HorrorFair
- + NavalFair
- + TabletopFair
- + SportsLong shot
- + PuzzleLong shot
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
Comparable games
Tooth and Tail 2017 · $1.7M 
Command & Conquer™ Generals Zero Hour 2024 · $1.3M 
Cortex Command 2012 · $1.2M 
Combat Mission Shock Force 2 2020 · $1.1M 
DG2: Defense Grid 2 2014 · $810k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Tooth and Tail | older | $19.99 | 2,887 82% | 87k | $1.7M (exactly $1,731,334) | Pocketwatch Games |
| | Command & Conquer™ Generals Zero Hour | older | $6.96 | 6,131 91% | 184k | $1.3M (exactly $1,280,153) | EA Pacific |
| | Cortex Command | older | $19.99 | 2,003 82% | 60k | $1.2M (exactly $1,201,199) | Data Realms |
| | Combat Mission Shock Force 2 | older | $59.99 | 624 80% | 19k | $1.1M (exactly $1,123,013) | Battlefront |
| | DG2: Defense Grid 2 | older | $9.99 | 2,704 86% | 81k | $810k (exactly $810,389) | Hidden Path Entertainment |
 | Toy Soldiers: Complete | older | $14.99 | 989 78% | 30k | $445k (exactly $444,753) | Signal Studios, Krome Studios |
 | CastleStorm | older | $9.99 | 1,262 89% | 38k | $378k (exactly $378,221) | Zen Studios |
 | Atom Zombie Smasher | older | $9.99 | 1,109 89% | 33k | $332k (exactly $332,367) | Blendo Games |
 | GUILTY GEAR 2 -OVERTURE- | older | $19.99 | 426 76% | 13k | $255k (exactly $255,472) | Arc System Works |
 | Cannon Brawl | older | $14.99 | 557 92% | 17k | $250k (exactly $250,483) | Theresa Duringer, Pete Andstadt |
 | DSS 2: War Industry | $17.99 | 183 83% | 5.5k | $99k (exactly $98,765) | vikingfabian | |
 | Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids | $29.99 | 90 83% | 2.7k | $81k (exactly $80,973) | Snapshot Games Inc. | |
 | Warhammer: Dark Omen (Classic) | $9.99 | 132 91% | 4.0k | $40k (exactly $39,560) | Mindscape | |
 | Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat (Classic) | $5.99 | 42 59% | 1.3k | $7.5k (exactly $7,547) | Mindscape | |
 | Jelly Troops | $8.99 | 22 90% | 660 | $5.9k (exactly $5,933) | Nukenin | |
 | Global Business Tycoon | $12.99 | 14 57% | 420 | $5.5k (exactly $5,456) | Virox Studios | |
 | Marshals of Yore | $4.99 | 30 90% | 900 | $4.5k (exactly $4,491) | One Man Horde | |
 | 即时象棋：旧棋新弈 Hyper Chinese Chess | $1.99 | 51 76% | 1.5k | $3.0k (exactly $3,045) | 上弦月工作室AscentGames | |
 | Insectum - Epic Battles of Bugs | $9.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) | DevilishGames, Famosa by Giochi Preziosi | |
 | Celestis | $4.99 | 14 92% | 420 | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) | Tasharen Entertainment Inc. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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