Do I ship it?

GamesStrategyStrategy + Nature

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Nature Strategy game?

Strategy + Nature

Of 346 developers who shipped a Nature 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.. 562 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×437 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 562 games are announced against 210 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 562 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy + Nature
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 346
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $719 → $1.9k → $898 → $748 → $479 → $1.2k → $1.2k (still earning) → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy + Nature: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 346
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $7.5k (exactly $7,485)
Top 5% $274k (exactly $274,400)
Developers, 2 yr 346
Released games 842
Announced 562
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 25% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Nature
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Strategy; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Resource Management
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Colorful, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 88,276 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $720, 1 in 4 over $7.4k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 175 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 562 games are announced against 210 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds50 devs · median $65k · 27 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair62 devs · median $16k · 74 announced
  3. + BaseballFair14 devs · median $7.5k · 7 announced
  4. + LGBTQ+Fair89 devs · median $6.7k · 91 announced
  5. + WuxiaFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 41 announced
  6. + FarmingFair44 devs · median $4.3k · 42 announced
  7. + Martial ArtsFair81 devs · median $3.0k · 94 announced
  8. + SubmarineFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  9. + NavalFair66 devs · median $2.2k · 88 announced
  10. + IdlerFair696 devs · median $1.9k · 988 announced
  11. + Shop KeeperFair159 devs · median $1.8k · 264 announced
  12. + HackingFair96 devs · median $1.2k · 132 announced

All 275 pairs on the Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Planet Zoo older $44.99 81,191 90% 2.4M $110M (exactly $109,583,493) Frontier Developments
theHunter: Call of the Wild™ older $19.99 170,472 89% 5.1M $102M (exactly $102,232,058) Expansive Worlds
Timberborn $34.99 38,529 95% 1.2M $40M (exactly $40,443,891) Mechanistry
Going Medieval $29.99 17,032 88% 511k $15M (exactly $15,323,690) Foxy Voxel
Two Point Museum $29.99 9,626 95% 289k $8.7M (exactly $8,660,512) Two Point Studios
Terra Nil older $24.99 8,035 87% 241k $6.0M (exactly $6,023,840) Free Lives, Clockwork Acorn
Wingspan older $19.99 9,807 94% 294k $5.9M (exactly $5,881,258) Monster Couch
Let's School older $19.99 5,887 92% 177k $3.5M (exactly $3,530,434) Pathea Games
OUTBRK · EA older $34.99 3,221 82% 97k $3.4M (exactly $3,381,084) Sublime
Flotsam $24.99 4,308 80% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,229,708) Pajama Llama Games
Everything is Crab: The Animal Evolution Roguelite $9.99 6,876 76% 206k $2.1M (exactly $2,060,737) Odd Dreams Digital
MineMogul · EA $14.99 4,330 96% 130k $1.9M (exactly $1,947,201) NoodleForge (Gvarados & Diomonder)
Empire of the Ants $39.99 931 73% 28k $1.1M (exactly $1,116,921) Tower Five
Laysara: Summit Kingdom $24.99 1,421 80% 43k $1.1M (exactly $1,065,324) Quite OK Games
Endzone 2 $29.99 894 65% 27k $804k (exactly $804,332) Gentlymad Studios
Kabuto Park $4.99 4,329 99% 130k $648k (exactly $648,051) Doot

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