Should I ship a Military RTS?
RTS + Military
Of 149 developers who shipped a Military RTS in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 289 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.9k, ×4.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $3.2M, ×2141 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 289 games are announced against 83 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.0k (exactly $1,015) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.9k (exactly $6,920) |
| Top 25% | $108k (exactly $107,946) |
| Top 5% | $3.2M (exactly $3,207,795) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 149 |
| Released games | 541 |
| Announced | 289 |
| 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 15% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Wargame, Real Time Tactics
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Top-Down
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 84,340 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 7 in 10 of the 85 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 289 games are announced against 83 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RTS with a different setting or mood, 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
Hearts of Iron IV 2016 · $412M 
Total War: THREE KINGDOMS 2019 · $76M 
Company of Heroes 3 2023 · $44M 
Company of Heroes 2 2013 · $41M 
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition 2020 · $39M | 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 |
| | Total War: THREE KINGDOMS | older | $39.99 | 63,110 82% | 1.9M | $76M (exactly $75,713,067) | CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (M… (CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)) |
| | Company of Heroes 3 | older | $59.99 | 24,516 59% | 735k | $44M (exactly $44,121,445) | Relic Entertainment |
| | 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)) |
| | Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition | older | $34.99 | 37,093 84% | 1.1M | $39M (exactly $38,936,522) | World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten… (World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten Empires) |
 | Broken Arrow | $49.99 | 25,924 55% | 778k | $39M (exactly $38,878,223) | Steel Balalaika | |
 | Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront | older | $34.99 | 32,183 85% | 965k | $34M (exactly $33,782,495) | Barbedwire Studios, Digitalmindsoft |
 | Men of War: Assault Squad 2 | older | $29.99 | 35,744 91% | 1.1M | $32M (exactly $32,158,877) | Digitalmindsoft |
 | UBOAT | older | $29.99 | 25,568 83% | 767k | $23M (exactly $23,003,530) | Deep Water Studio |
 | WARNO | older | $39.99 | 14,502 80% | 435k | $17M (exactly $17,398,049) | Eugen Systems |
 | Tempest Rising | $39.99 | 9,811 87% | 294k | $12M (exactly $11,770,257) | Slipgate Ironworks™ | |
 | Diplomacy is Not an Option | $29.99 | 10,904 85% | 327k | $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) | Door 407 | |
 | Door Kickers 2: Task Force North | $24.99 | 12,324 96% | 370k | $9.2M (exactly $9,239,303) | KillHouse Games | |
 | Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age | · EA | $49.99 | 6,109 90% | 183k | $9.2M (exactly $9,161,667) | Triassic Games |
 | ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS 8 REMAKE | $59.99 | 3,118 49% | 94k | $5.6M (exactly $5,611,465) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
 | Master of Command | $29.99 | 3,840 92% | 115k | $3.5M (exactly $3,454,848) | Armchair Interactive | |
 | Becastled | $19.99 | 5,349 81% | 160k | $3.2M (exactly $3,207,795) | Mana Potion Studios | |
 | Commandos: Origins | $49.99 | 1,844 79% | 55k | $2.8M (exactly $2,765,447) | Claymore Game Studios | |
 | Tower Dominion | $17.49 | 5,117 85% | 154k | $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) | Parallel 45 Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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