Do I ship it?

GamesStrategy RPGStrategy RPG + Lovecraftian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Lovecraftian Strategy RPG?

Strategy RPG + Lovecraftian

Only 13 developers shipped a Lovecraftian Strategy RPG 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, Magicraft, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 30 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $6.9k, ×11 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $7.2M, ×11497 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 30 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 11.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 30 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy RPG + Lovecraftian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $16k → $6.9k → $6.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy RPG + Lovecraftian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $6.9k (exactly $6,924)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $16,184)
Top 5% $7.2M (exactly $7,219,965)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 31
Announced 30
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $10.99

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 30% on the market, supply 125% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Strategy RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Lovecraftian
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
Strategy RPG
Price point
$10.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 15,620 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $6.9k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $7.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 30 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Strategy RPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SportsFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 26 announced
  2. + SwordplayFair22 devs · median $2.7k · 28 announced
  3. + Bullet HellFair40 devs · median $2.0k · 31 announced
  4. + EconomyFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced
  5. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  6. + ConspiracyFair19 devs · median $1.2k · 21 announced
  7. + Shop KeeperFair21 devs · median $987 · 25 announced
  8. + 2D PlatformerFair108 devs · median $479 · 113 announced
  9. + Point & ClickFair43 devs · median $450 · 47 announced
  10. + Turn-BasedPoor odds58 devs · median $63k · 76 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds30 devs · median $35k · 41 announced
  12. + 4XPoor odds15 devs · median $31k · 33 announced

All 158 pairs on the Strategy RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Magicraft $15.99 15,051 92% 452k $7.2M (exactly $7,219,965) Wave Games
Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery older $24.99 4,861 78% 146k $3.6M (exactly $3,644,292) Shanghai Sunborn Network Technology Co.… (Shanghai Sunborn Network Technology Co., Ltd.)
Depersonalization older $19.99 6,041 92% 181k $3.6M (exactly $3,622,788) MeowNature
The Shrouded Isle older $12.99 1,166 71% 35k $454k (exactly $454,390) Jongwoo Kim, Erica Lahaie, FX Bilodeau,… (Jongwoo Kim, Erica Lahaie, FX Bilodeau, Tanya Short)
Shardpunk older $13.99 739 92% 22k $310k (exactly $310,158) Clockwork Pile
Stirring Abyss older $24.99 334 88% 10k $250k (exactly $250,400) Sleepy Sentry, K-Project
Nightmare Frontier $24.99 187 69% 5.6k $140k (exactly $140,194) Ice Code Games
Whispers of the Eyeless $19.99 226 74% 6.8k $136k (exactly $135,532) Venris, Evil Gingerbread Studio
Heretic Operative older $19.99 88 79% 2.6k $53k (exactly $52,774) C Prompt Games
Apollyon: River of Life older $14.99 37 89% 1.1k $17k (exactly $16,639) The Planar Danse
RECORD_DrowsyVortex $9.99 54 100% 1.6k $16k (exactly $16,184) LunarHillz
Drill Rift $14.99 24 75% 720 $11k (exactly $10,793) Steam Veil Games
Herogue $14.99 22 95% 660 $9.9k (exactly $9,893) 巴豆肥工作室
Paracom $10.99 21 90% 630 $6.9k (exactly $6,924) Steel Widow Klan
A Tale of Silent Depths $9.99 21 80% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) Crit42 Studio
Necrotyper $14.99 12 91% 360 $5.4k (exactly $5,396) Vildiur
AO: Containment Breach · EA $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Prismatix-

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