Should I ship a Loot RTS?
RTS + Loot
Only 15 developers shipped a Loot RTS in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.6k, ×3.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $860k, ×577 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 19 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.6k (exactly $4,554) |
| Top 25% | $52k (exactly $52,220) |
| Top 5% | $864k (exactly $863,874) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 15 |
| Released games | 38 |
| Announced | 19 |
| Effort | 7 / 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 up 50% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- RTS, Loot
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 3,802 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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
War for the Overworld 2015 · $5.8M 
Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes 2026 · $864k 
Knightica 2025 · $511k 
Darfall 2025 · $368k 
miniBONG 2023 · $264k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | War for the Overworld | older | $29.99 | 6,495 85% | 195k | $5.8M (exactly $5,843,552) | Brightrock Games |
| | 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 | |
| | Darfall | $24.99 | 491 71% | 15k | $368k (exactly $368,103) | SquareNite | |
| | miniBONG | older | $9.99 | 881 79% | 26k | $264k (exactly $264,036) | Game Star |
 | Breach & Clear: Deadline Rebirth (2016) | older | $9.99 | 715 53% | 21k | $214k (exactly $214,286) | Mighty Rabbit Studios, Gun Media |
 | The Valiant | older | $24.99 | 209 61% | 6.3k | $157k (exactly $156,687) | KITE Games |
 | XiuzhenWorld2 | $12.99 | 134 67% | 4.0k | $52k (exactly $52,220) | Noforgetit | |
 | Divinity Vassals | $11.99 | 36 75% | 1.1k | $13k (exactly $12,949) | Yi | |
 | Tactical Command | older | $7.99 | 43 88% | 1.3k | $10k (exactly $10,307) | Hardy Games |
 | Tribe Nation | $9.99 | 24 79% | 720 | $7.2k (exactly $7,193) | Random Worlds s.r.o. | |
 | Necrotyper | $14.99 | 12 91% | 360 | $5.4k (exactly $5,396) | Vildiur | |
 | Elemental Magic Wars | $7.99 | 19 84% | 570 | $4.6k (exactly $4,554) | FWGames | |
 | Warsong | · EA | $14.99 | 10 70% | 300 | $4.5k (exactly $4,497) | Windforce |
 | Pirate Patrol | $4.99 | 19 42% | 570 | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) | INDIELLIGENT |
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.