Do I ship it?

Games › Real-Time with Pause › Real-Time with Pause + Military

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Military Real-Time with Pause game?

Real-Time with Pause + Military

Only 11 developers shipped a Military Real-Time with Pause 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, Terra Invicta, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 33 more are announced, ×6.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $120k, ×83 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $37k; 1 in 20 cleared $10M, ×7253 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 33 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 82.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 33 announced, ×6.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Real-Time with Pause + Military
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $479k → $68k → $274k → $124k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Real-Time with Pause + Military: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $37k (exactly $36,934)
Median $124k (exactly $123,737)
Top 25% $9.2M (exactly $9,239,303)
Top 5% $11M (exactly $10,865,683)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 49
Announced 33
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $14.99

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 20% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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.

Real-Time with Pause
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Military
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
Real-Time with Pause
Price point
$14.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 34,591 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $37k, median $120k, 1 in 4 over $9.2M, 1 in 20 over $10M.

3 in 10 developers made under $37k. 3 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Real-Time with Pause with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + CombatStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + ActionFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  3. + Open WorldPoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  4. + AdventurePoor odds10 devs · median $561k · 7 announced
  5. + City BuilderPoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 25 announced
  6. + ExplorationPoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 24 announced
  7. + Choices MatterPoor odds9 devs · median $215k · 23 announced
  8. + HistoricalPoor odds14 devs · median $124k · 19 announced
  9. + MedievalPoor odds10 devs · median $87k · 22 announced
  10. + Base BuildingPoor odds20 devs · median $73k · 35 announced
  11. + SurvivalPoor odds20 devs · median $73k · 27 announced
  12. + Colony SimPoor odds11 devs · median $73k · 21 announced

All 41 pairs on the Real-Time with Pause page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Hearts of Iron IV 2016 · $412M Stellaris 2016 · $210M Europa Universalis IV 2013 · $141M Victoria 3 2022 · $62M Company of Heroes 2 2013 · $41M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hearts of Iron IV older $49.99 274,901 90% 8.2M $412M (exactly $412,269,030) Paradox Development Studio
Stellaris older $49.99 139,718 85% 4.2M $210M (exactly $209,535,085) Paradox Development Studio
Europa Universalis IV older $49.99 94,114 87% 2.8M $141M (exactly $141,142,766) Paradox Development Studio, Paradox Tin… (Paradox Development Studio, Paradox Tinto)
Victoria 3 older $49.99 41,251 71% 1.2M $62M (exactly $61,864,125) Paradox Development Studio
Company of Heroes 2 older $19.99 68,909 80% 2.1M $41M (exactly $41,324,727) Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive… (Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux))
Terra Invicta $39.99 9,057 80% 272k $11M (exactly $10,865,683) Pavonis Interactive
Victoria II older $19.99 16,504 92% 495k $9.9M (exactly $9,897,449) Paradox Development Studio
Diplomacy is Not an Option $29.99 10,904 85% 327k $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) Door 407
Steel Division 2 older $39.99 8,061 79% 242k $9.7M (exactly $9,670,782) Eugen Systems
Door Kickers 2: Task Force North $24.99 12,324 96% 370k $9.2M (exactly $9,239,303) KillHouse Games
Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand $29.99 1,015 49% 30k $913k (exactly $913,196) Relic Entertainment
Solar Nations 2 · EA $14.99 609 85% 18k $274k (exactly $273,867) Flomgus Games
States of Power $11.99 344 88% 10k $124k (exactly $123,737) Sarunas
Welcome Back, Commander $14.99 230 80% 6.9k $103k (exactly $103,431) S.C. 16 BIT NIGHTS S.R.L.
On The Western Front $13.99 88 84% 2.6k $37k (exactly $36,934) Aggroblakh
Samurai Conqueror $13.99 18 100% 540 $7.6k (exactly $7,555) Miura Production
RUPTURR · EA $5.99 2 100% 60 $359 (exactly $359) Aikon Interactive

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