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Should I ship a Management Swordplay game?
Swordplay + Management
Only 11 developers shipped a Management Swordplay game 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, Ludus Magnatus: Gladiator Manager Simulator, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced, ×6.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.1k against a market of $630. 20 games are announced.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.1k (exactly $1,069) |
| Top 25% | $9.0k (exactly $8,992) |
| Top 5% | $459k (exactly $458,816) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 11 |
| Released games | 29 |
| Announced | 20 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 65% fewer developers than the period before.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Swordplay
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Management
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Swordplay, Management
- Price point
- $7.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 9 games average 83% positive over 1,806 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Swordplay with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Shoot 'Em UpLong shot
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + FightingPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
Comparable games
Kenshi 2018 · $89M 
The Guild II Renaissance 2010 · $1.1M 
Driftland: The Magic Revival 2019 · $863k 
Ludus Magnatus: Gladiator Manager Simulator 2026 · EA · $459k 
Shoppe Keep 2 2019 · $458k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Kenshi | older | $29.99 | 98,451 95% | 3.0M | $89M (exactly $88,576,365) | Lo-Fi Games |
| | The Guild II Renaissance | older | $9.99 | 3,540 82% | 106k | $1.1M (exactly $1,060,938) | Runeforge Game Studio |
| | Driftland: The Magic Revival | older | $19.99 | 1,439 73% | 43k | $863k (exactly $862,968) | Star Drifters |
| | Ludus Magnatus: Gladiator Manager Simulator | · EA | $24.99 | 612 81% | 18k | $459k (exactly $458,816) | Contec Games |
| | Shoppe Keep 2 | older | $9.99 | 1,527 57% | 46k | $458k (exactly $457,642) | Strange Fire |
 | Age of Gladiators II: Rome | older | $19.99 | 272 66% | 8.2k | $163k (exactly $163,118) | Creative Storm Entertainment |
 | Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story | older | $14.99 | 247 59% | 7.4k | $111k (exactly $111,076) | Agate |
 | 小小侠客模拟器 | $2.99 | 1,103 86% | 33k | $99k (exactly $98,939) | 小小游戏 | |
 | Ironsmith Medieval Simulator | older | $9.99 | 214 26% | 6.4k | $64k (exactly $64,136) | The EpicLore |
 | Age of Gladiators II: Death League | older | $12.99 | 84 71% | 2.5k | $33k (exactly $32,735) | Creative Storm Entertainment |
 | Robin Hood: Sherwood Defenders | $11.99 | 25 44% | 750 | $9.0k (exactly $8,992) | MeanAstronauts | |
 | CRIXUS: Life of free Gladiator | $7.99 | 15 46% | 450 | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) | Waseku | |
 | Stronghold: Caverns of Sorcery | $6.99 | 6 33% | 180 | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) | Choice of Games | |
 | RiftGuard | $0.99 | 36 91% | 1.1k | $1.1k (exactly $1,069) | Artur Rezende | |
 | Card Maker Simulator | $7.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $719 (exactly $719) | Níkolas Santos | |
 | Vasterra | $4.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | Pollo Solo Studio | |
 | Ninja Wars: Battle Simulator | $0.99 | 5 40% | 150 | $148 (exactly $148) | Yusuf Islam Seyhan, Samet Acar | |
 | HalfMoon Adventures | $8.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | 2Bit Couch Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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