Do I ship it?

Games › MOBA › MOBA + RTS

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an RTS MOBA?

MOBA + RTS

Only 11 developers shipped a paid RTS MOBA 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, EverSiege: Untold Ages, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 5 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 42 more are announced, ×7.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 9 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build. 6 developers shipped in the last year and 42 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 9850% on the market, 42 announced, ×7.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
MOBA + RTS
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: $0 → $119 → $238 → $30k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for MOBA + RTS: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $238 (exactly $238)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,193)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 81
Announced 42
Effort 9 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 9850% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 49%, 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.

MOBA
effort 9 / 10 · low · competitive netcode plus a balanced hero roster
RTS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
MOBA, RTS
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 9 games average 68% positive over 2,048 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $300, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $1.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

MOBA with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RoguelitePoor odds10 devs · median $3.9k · 15 announced
  2. + AdventurePoor odds12 devs · median $3.1k · 44 announced
  3. + Tower DefensePoor odds7 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  4. + FantasyPoor odds18 devs · median $2.7k · 85 announced
  5. + Character CustomizationPoor odds10 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  6. + Online Co-OpPoor odds19 devs · median $600 · 57 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds21 devs · median $479 · 53 announced
  8. + ActionPoor odds53 devs · median $359 · 170 announced
  9. + SimulationPoor odds12 devs · median $359 · 33 announced
  10. + RPGPoor odds23 devs · median $180 · 73 announced
  11. + Hero ShooterDead5 devs · median $49k · 24 announced
  12. + SurvivalDead6 devs · median $31k · 22 announced

All 50 pairs on the MOBA page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III 2017 · $17M EverSiege: Untold Ages 2026 · $1.1M Command & Conquer™ 4 Tiberian Twilight 2010 · $1.0M Demigod 2011 · $303k GUILTY GEAR 2 -OVERTURE- 2016 · $255k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III older $39.99 14,436 50% 433k $17M (exactly $17,318,869) Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive… (Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux))
EverSiege: Untold Ages $19.99 1,906 68% 57k $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028) Tindalos Interactive
Command & Conquer™ 4 Tiberian Twilight older $6.96 4,832 16% 145k $1.0M (exactly $1,008,922) EA Los Angeles
Demigod older $9.99 1,011 75% 30k $303k (exactly $302,997) Gas Powered Games
GUILTY GEAR 2 -OVERTURE- older $19.99 426 76% 13k $255k (exactly $255,472) Arc System Works
WARSHIFT older $9.99 643 71% 19k $193k (exactly $192,707) Cyril Megem
AirMech Wastelands older $14.99 278 69% 8.3k $125k (exactly $125,017) Carbon Games
Mushroom Wars older $9.99 312 77% 9.4k $94k (exactly $93,506) Zillion Whales, Creat Studios
War of Wizards older $19.99 140 70% 4.2k $84k (exactly $83,958) Arcane Miracle Entertainment
Bloodsports.TV older $9.99 255 83% 7.7k $76k (exactly $76,424) Toadman Interactive, Fatshark
Sanguo's Ambition 4 :Three Kingdoms $9.99 101 68% 3.0k $30k (exactly $30,270) Youshen Interactive
Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss $19.99 22 63% 660 $13k (exactly $13,193) Polyarc
Train Trek · EA $14.99 2 100% 60 $899 (exactly $899) Aixceptional
Cosmic Order Fleet $4.99 3 100% 90 $449 (exactly $449) DotSpark Studio
War to the Core · EA $9.99 1 100% 30 $300 (exactly $300) Forgotten Mines
Blitz Society $4.99 2 100% 60 $299 (exactly $299) Ryan Evans
Bomber Festival $0.99 8 100% 240 $238 (exactly $238) kaze studio
FastMoBa $2.50 3 100% 90 $225 (exactly $225) Nguyen Thanh Chinh
Steal It $5.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) LuQ Studios

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