Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + Mechs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mech RTS?

RTS + Mechs

Only 16 developers shipped a Mech 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, Mechabellum, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 39 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $14k, ×9.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $8.0M, ×5360 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 39 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 39 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Mechs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $417k → $28k → $17k → $14k → $150 (still earning) → $14k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Mechs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $14k (exactly $13,786)
Top 25% $32k (exactly $32,384)
Top 5% $8.0M (exactly $8,029,843)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 57
Announced 39
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 down 80% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

RTS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Mechs
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
RTS
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 18,542 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 $14k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $8.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomeFair12 devs · median $64k · 13 announced
  2. + Outbreak SimFair16 devs · median $2.6k · 14 announced
  3. + HorrorFair20 devs · median $2.4k · 27 announced
  4. + NavalFair15 devs · median $2.4k · 21 announced
  5. + TabletopFair25 devs · median $1.9k · 33 announced
  6. + SportsLong shot19 devs · median $861 · 9 announced
  7. + PuzzleLong shot48 devs · median $479 · 40 announced
  8. + World War IIPoor odds23 devs · median $105k · 38 announced
  9. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds28 devs · median $64k · 41 announced
  10. + Open WorldPoor odds45 devs · median $35k · 100 announced
  11. + Colony SimPoor odds87 devs · median $31k · 159 announced
  12. + HistoricalPoor odds108 devs · median $30k · 180 announced

All 149 pairs on the RTS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Iron Harvest 2020 · $11M Planetary Annihilation: TITANS 2015 · $10M Mechabellum 2024 · $8.0M Airships: Conquer the Skies 2018 · $4.6M Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance 2024 · $4.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Iron Harvest older $29.99 11,682 74% 350k $11M (exactly $10,510,295) KING Art
Planetary Annihilation: TITANS older $29.99 11,401 84% 342k $10M (exactly $10,257,480) Planetary Annihilation Inc
Mechabellum $14.99 17,856 84% 536k $8.0M (exactly $8,029,843) Game River
Airships: Conquer the Skies older $24.99 6,197 95% 186k $4.6M (exactly $4,645,891) David Stark
Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance older $39.99 3,395 82% 102k $4.1M (exactly $4,072,982) Slitherine Ltd.
Supreme Commander 2 older $12.99 8,349 87% 250k $3.3M (exactly $3,253,605) Gas Powered Games
Grey Goo older $29.99 2,602 69% 78k $2.3M (exactly $2,341,019) Petroglyph, Six Foot
Rusted Warfare - RTS older $4.99 6,619 96% 199k $991k (exactly $990,864) Corroding Games
Supreme Commander older $12.99 2,322 88% 70k $905k (exactly $904,883) Gas Powered Games
Cavalry Girls older $11.99 1,877 88% 56k $675k (exactly $675,157) 中子星游戏研究所
Grit and Valor - 1949 $19.99 274 75% 8.2k $164k (exactly $164,318) Milky Tea Studios
ShellMobile: Titan Rampart $5.99 181 97% 5.4k $33k (exactly $32,526) 红景天娱乐
WARSHIFT 2 $19.99 54 70% 1.6k $32k (exactly $32,384) Cyril Megem
IRON GUARD: Salvation $17.99 44 93% 1.3k $24k (exactly $23,747) Xlab Digital
WarOS · EA $19.99 29 72% 870 $17k (exactly $17,391) The7 Studio
INSANIO $9.99 48 66% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,386) somebody
Echoes of the Architects $9.99 46 80% 1.4k $14k (exactly $13,786) GFX47
Battle Echoes $6.99 7 85% 210 $1.5k (exactly $1,468) rose may games
Zombocalypse Now! $10.99 3 66% 90 $989 (exactly $989) Pixel Drip Games

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