Should I ship a Physics RTS?
RTS + Physics
Of 34 developers who shipped a Physics 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.. 75 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270. 75 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper, while revenue is up 440% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $270 (exactly $270) |
|---|---|
| Median | $719 (exactly $719) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $12,949) |
| Top 5% | $513k (exactly $512,743) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 34 |
| Released games | 105 |
| Announced | 75 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 440% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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, Physics; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Tactical, Combat
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 68% positive over 4,142 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RTS with a different second tag, 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
UBOAT 2024 · $23M 
From the Depths 2020 · $8.3M 
Creeper World 4 2020 · $3.4M 
Silica 2023 · EA · $2.7M 
Starminer 2026 · EA · $1.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | UBOAT | older | $29.99 | 25,568 83% | 767k | $23M (exactly $23,003,530) | Deep Water Studio |
| | From the Depths | older | $24.99 | 11,059 89% | 332k | $8.3M (exactly $8,290,932) | Brilliant Skies Ltd. |
| | Creeper World 4 | older | $24.99 | 4,553 94% | 137k | $3.4M (exactly $3,413,384) | Knuckle Cracker |
| | Silica | · EA older | $19.99 | 4,468 77% | 134k | $2.7M (exactly $2,679,460) | Martin 'Dram' Melichárek |
| | Starminer | · EA | $29.99 | 1,818 72% | 55k | $1.6M (exactly $1,635,655) | CoolAndGoodGames |
 | Cortex Command | older | $19.99 | 2,003 82% | 60k | $1.2M (exactly $1,201,199) | Data Realms |
 | Creeper World IXE | $19.99 | 855 69% | 26k | $513k (exactly $512,743) | Knuckle Cracker | |
 | Modern Naval Warfare | · EA | $59.99 | 237 58% | 7.1k | $427k (exactly $426,529) | Wave Ops |
 | CastleStorm | older | $9.99 | 1,262 89% | 38k | $378k (exactly $378,221) | Zen Studios |
 | Ratten Reich | $19.99 | 616 40% | 18k | $369k (exactly $369,415) | METALLADLERSTUDIO | |
 | Annihilate The Spance | · EA | $29.99 | 347 90% | 10k | $312k (exactly $312,196) | Skyglow Softworks |
 | Toy Tactics | $24.99 | 121 91% | 3.6k | $91k (exactly $90,714) | Kraken Empire | |
 | Endeavor: Rite of Passage | · EA | $19.99 | 32 84% | 960 | $19k (exactly $19,190) | Endeavor |
 | Axom: Conquest | $9.99 | 47 78% | 1.4k | $14k (exactly $14,086) | Hairy Penguin | |
 | Spacefleet: Heat Death | · EA | $11.99 | 36 86% | 1.1k | $13k (exactly $12,949) | Spacezero Interactive |
 | Maelstrom: The Battle for Earth Begins Enhanced | $6.99 | 33 75% | 990 | $6.9k (exactly $6,920) | KDV Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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