Games › Strategy › Strategy + Modern
Should I ship a Modern-Day Strategy game?
Strategy + Modern
Of 193 developers who shipped a Modern-Day Strategy game 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.. 274 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $550k, ×888 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 274 games are announced against 117 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $13,491) |
| Top 5% | $557k (exactly $557,442) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 193 |
| Released games | 469 |
| Announced | 274 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 up 20% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 95,542 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 82 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 274 games are announced against 117 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
Comparable games
Squad 2020 · $217M 
Cities: Skylines 2015 · $198M 
Broken Arrow 2025 · $39M 
Tempest Rising 2025 · $12M 
Revenge on gold diggers 2025 · $9.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Squad | older | $39.99 | 180,505 82% | 5.4M | $217M (exactly $216,551,848) | Offworld |
| | Cities: Skylines | older | $29.99 | 220,465 92% | 6.6M | $198M (exactly $198,352,360) | Colossal Order |
| | Broken Arrow | $49.99 | 25,924 55% | 778k | $39M (exactly $38,878,223) | Steel Balalaika | |
| | Tempest Rising | $39.99 | 9,811 87% | 294k | $12M (exactly $11,770,257) | Slipgate Ironworks™ | |
| | Revenge on gold diggers | $6.99 | 46,610 80% | 1.4M | $9.8M (exactly $9,774,117) | 前方工作室 | |
 | Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead | older | $19.99 | 16,198 92% | 486k | $9.7M (exactly $9,713,941) | Bohemia Interactive |
 | Call to Arms | older | $14.99 | 17,431 80% | 523k | $7.8M (exactly $7,838,721) | Digitalmindsoft |
 | Diablo II: Resurrected – Infernal Edition | $39.99 | 5,855 86% | 176k | $7.0M (exactly $7,024,244) | Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. | |
 | 911 Operator | older | $14.99 | 14,416 89% | 432k | $6.5M (exactly $6,482,875) | Jutsu Games |
 | Democracy 4 | older | $29.99 | 5,891 81% | 177k | $5.3M (exactly $5,300,133) | Positech Games |
 | Cardfight!! Vanguard Dear Days 2 | $69.99 | 631 67% | 19k | $1.3M (exactly $1,324,911) | FURYU Corporation, LANCARSE Ltd. | |
 | ICBM: Escalation | $29.99 | 1,248 86% | 37k | $1.1M (exactly $1,122,826) | SoftWarWare | |
 | Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes | $14.99 | 1,921 90% | 58k | $864k (exactly $863,874) | Cats Who Play | |
 | Geo-Political Simulator 5 | $59.99 | 391 34% | 12k | $704k (exactly $703,683) | Eversim | |
 | Sex, Secrets & Used Tech | $16.99 | 1,291 85% | 39k | $658k (exactly $658,023) | WorkNite Games, 78Games | |
 | 极速营救 | $9.99 | 1,860 86% | 56k | $557k (exactly $557,442) | 优映文化, 想象颗粒 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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