Do I ship it?

GamesWargameWargame + Local Multiplayer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Wargame?

Wargame + Local Multiplayer

Of 28 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer Wargame 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.. 28 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×4.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $330. Revenue is up 290% on the market; 28 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 290% on the market, 28 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Wargame + Local Multiplayer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.8k → $4.0k → $1.8k → $6.6k → $99k → $8.4k (still earning) → $330 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Wargame + Local Multiplayer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $330 (exactly $330)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,992)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $22,178)
Top 5% $99k (exactly $98,765)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 122
Announced 28
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 290% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Wargame
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Local Multiplayer
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Wargame, Local Multiplayer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Tactical, Combat
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 1990's
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 1,545 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $330, median $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $22k, 1 in 20 over $98k.

3 in 10 developers made under $330. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Inventory ManagementFair21 devs · median $4.6k · 20 announced
  2. + NavalFair37 devs · median $2.4k · 37 announced
  3. + TabletopFair50 devs · median $1.1k · 57 announced
  4. + LogicFair20 devs · median $599 · 26 announced
  5. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds11 devs · median $37k · 24 announced
  6. + Real-TimePoor odds13 devs · median $37k · 17 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds43 devs · median $21k · 84 announced
  8. + StealthPoor odds10 devs · median $21k · 39 announced
  9. + DiplomacyPoor odds34 devs · median $17k · 59 announced
  10. + Colony SimPoor odds24 devs · median $16k · 55 announced
  11. + SandboxPoor odds82 devs · median $14k · 142 announced
  12. + Cold WarPoor odds34 devs · median $11k · 49 announced

All 147 pairs on the Wargame page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI with Power Up Kit older $39.99 3,754 92% 113k $4.5M (exactly $4,503,674) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Axis & Allies 1942 Online older $19.99 4,810 78% 144k $2.9M (exactly $2,884,557) Beamdog
Combat Mission Shock Force 2 older $59.99 624 80% 19k $1.1M (exactly $1,123,013) Battlefront
Combat Mission Black Sea older $59.99 422 81% 13k $759k (exactly $759,473) Battlefront
IronWolf VR older $19.99 1,087 94% 33k $652k (exactly $651,874) Ionized Studios
Romance of the Three Kingdoms IX with Power Up Kit older $29.99 570 84% 17k $513k (exactly $512,829) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Combat Mission Cold War older $59.99 156 60% 4.7k $281k (exactly $280,753) Battlefront
The Conquest of Go $14.99 581 94% 17k $261k (exactly $261,276) Wolfey Studios
Wargroove 2 older $19.99 403 69% 12k $242k (exactly $241,679) Chucklefish, Robotality
Death Crown older $12.99 516 89% 15k $201k (exactly $201,085) 5WORD Team
DSS 2: War Industry $17.99 183 83% 5.5k $99k (exactly $98,765) vikingfabian
F-22: Air Dominance Fighter $19.99 138 91% 4.1k $83k (exactly $82,759) Digital Image Design Ltd.
BattleCap $11.99 159 96% 4.8k $57k (exactly $57,192) MechAlmond Productions
Warhammer: Dark Omen (Classic) $9.99 132 91% 4.0k $40k (exactly $39,560) Mindscape
Headquarters: Cold War $29.99 37 64% 1.1k $33k (exactly $33,289) Starni Games
Sword & Siege Crusades: Book I $39.95 19 100% 570 $23k (exactly $22,772) Wargame Design Studio
Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate (Classic) $9.99 74 90% 2.2k $22k (exactly $22,178) Random Games
Final Liberation: Warhammer Epic 40,000 (Classic) $5.99 88 87% 2.6k $16k (exactly $15,814) Holistic Design Inc
Hand Simulator: Shooter · EA $2.99 134 46% 4.0k $12k (exactly $12,020) HFM Games

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