Games › RTS › RTS + Political Sim
Should I ship a Political Sim RTS?
RTS + Political Sim
Of 41 developers who shipped a Political Sim 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.. 48 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×2.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×123 the market median. Revenue is up 75% on the market; 48 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.4k (exactly $1,436) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.3k (exactly $3,293) |
| Top 25% | $61k (exactly $60,710) |
| Top 5% | $184k (exactly $183,938) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 41 |
| Released games | 120 |
| Announced | 48 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 75% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- RTS
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Political Sim
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- RTS, Political Sim; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Grand Strategy, Simulation, Strategy
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 69% positive over 3,290 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 8 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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
Imperator: Rome 2019 · $23M 
Victoria II 2010 · $9.9M 
Age of History II 2018 · $8.6M 
Tropico 5 2014 · $5.9M 
Total Conflict: Resistance 2023 · EA · $4.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Imperator: Rome | older | $39.99 | 19,492 65% | 585k | $23M (exactly $23,384,552) | Paradox Development Studio |
| | Victoria II | older | $19.99 | 16,504 92% | 495k | $9.9M (exactly $9,897,449) | Paradox Development Studio |
| | Age of History II | older | $5.99 | 47,614 89% | 1.4M | $8.6M (exactly $8,556,236) | Łukasz Jakowski |
| | Tropico 5 | older | $19.99 | 9,796 78% | 294k | $5.9M (exactly $5,874,661) | Haemimont Games |
| | Total Conflict: Resistance | · EA older | $29.99 | 5,089 74% | 153k | $4.6M (exactly $4,578,573) | Thunder Devs. |
 | Tropico 4 | older | $14.99 | 8,211 91% | 246k | $3.7M (exactly $3,692,487) | Haemimont Games |
 | Anno 1404 - History Edition | older | $14.99 | 3,454 82% | 104k | $1.6M (exactly $1,553,264) | Ubisoft Mainz |
 | Power & Revolution 2022 Edition | older | $49.99 | 815 60% | 24k | $1.2M (exactly $1,222,256) | Eversim |
 | Dummynation | older | $11.99 | 3,127 88% | 94k | $1.1M (exactly $1,124,782) | Alejandro Hernández Ferrero |
 | Power & Revolution 2021 Edition | older | $49.99 | 629 56% | 19k | $943k (exactly $943,311) | Eversim |
 | Geo-Political Simulator 5 | $59.99 | 391 34% | 12k | $704k (exactly $703,683) | Eversim | |
 | Mandate Order | · EA | $19.99 | 1,110 81% | 33k | $666k (exactly $665,667) | Digital Sky |
 | Geo-Political Simulator 2026 Edition | $59.99 | 249 48% | 7.5k | $448k (exactly $448,125) | Eversim | |
 | Age of Clicks | · EA | $12.99 | 472 65% | 14k | $184k (exactly $183,938) | David Ius |
 | AfterWar | $34.99 | 139 72% | 4.2k | $146k (exactly $145,908) | Dmytro Lumen | |
 | Extinction Day | $19.99 | 206 74% | 6.2k | $124k (exactly $123,538) | DryGin Studios | |
 | King's Orders | $14.99 | 257 70% | 7.7k | $116k (exactly $115,573) | AFTERLIFE👻 | |
 | SandTable War: Three Kingdoms | $9.99 | 301 84% | 9.0k | $90k (exactly $90,210) | 古玩工作室 | |
 | Fall of an Empire | $29.99 | 80 67% | 2.4k | $72k (exactly $71,976) | JG Games | |
 | Orbi Universo II | $24.99 | 85 75% | 2.6k | $64k (exactly $63,724) | Orbi Universo Team |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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