Do I ship it?

Games › Strategy › Strategy + Party Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Party Game Strategy game?

Strategy + Party Game

Of 163 developers who shipped a Party Game 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.. 320 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 $390, ×0.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 320 games are announced against 141 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper, while revenue is down 60% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 320 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy + Party Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 163
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.8k → $20k → $1.0k → $4.8k → $1.3k → $2.4k → $421 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy + Party Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 163
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $390 (exactly $390)
Top 25% $4.0k (exactly $3,950)
Top 5% $187k (exactly $186,770)
Developers, 2 yr 163
Released games 298
Announced 320
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 60% on the market, supply 540% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Party Game
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Strategy, Party Game; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry PvP, Online Co-Op, Co-op
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, 3D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 10,837 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $390, 1 in 4 over $3.9k, 1 in 20 over $180k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 320 games are announced against 141 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Strategy with a different second tag, 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

UNO 2017 · $13M Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes 2015 · $6.4M Tricky Towers 2016 · $5.6M The Jackbox Party Pack 3 2016 · $3.9M The Jackbox Party Pack 6 2019 · $2.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
UNO older $9.99 42,019 70% 1.3M $13M (exactly $12,593,094) Ubisoft Entertainment
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes older $14.99 14,331 97% 430k $6.4M (exactly $6,444,651) Steel Crate Games
Tricky Towers older $14.99 12,390 90% 372k $5.6M (exactly $5,571,783) WeirdBeard
The Jackbox Party Pack 3 older $24.99 5,139 96% 154k $3.9M (exactly $3,852,708) Jackbox Games, Inc.
The Jackbox Party Pack 6 older $29.99 2,343 95% 70k $2.1M (exactly $2,107,997) Jackbox Games, Inc.
The Jackbox Party Pack 5 older $29.99 2,180 93% 65k $2.0M (exactly $1,961,346) Jackbox Games, Inc.
The Jackbox Party Pack 4 older $24.99 2,478 94% 74k $1.9M (exactly $1,857,757) Jackbox Games, Inc.
The Jackbox Party Pack older $24.99 1,467 90% 44k $1.1M (exactly $1,099,810) Jackbox Games, Inc.
The Jackbox Party Pack 2 older $24.99 1,447 95% 43k $1.1M (exactly $1,084,816) Jackbox Games, Inc.
The Jackbox Party Pack 8 older $29.99 1,134 90% 34k $1.0M (exactly $1,020,260) Jackbox Games, Inc.
Feign $4.99 5,270 91% 158k $789k (exactly $788,919) Teneke Kafalar
Walk of Life $19.99 888 94% 27k $533k (exactly $532,534) Porcelain Fortress
NEW MONOPOLY® $29.99 531 36% 16k $478k (exactly $477,741) UBISOFT, Engine Software
The Jackbox Party Pack 11 $29.99 419 93% 13k $377k (exactly $376,974) Jackbox Games, Inc.
A Gentlemen's Dispute $7.99 1,199 94% 36k $287k (exactly $287,400) Blast Furnace Games
Youtubers Life 3 $19.99 468 50% 14k $281k (exactly $280,660) UPLAY Online
DOKAPON! Sword of Fury $24.99 354 85% 11k $265k (exactly $265,394) Sting
Tenebris: Terra Incognita $19.99 313 79% 9.4k $188k (exactly $187,706) Phantasmica Studios
Bogos Binted? $5.49 1,134 91% 34k $187k (exactly $186,770) underbadger
Choppy Cuts $16.99 261 75% 7.8k $133k (exactly $133,032) Moco Studios I

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