Do I ship it?

Games › Strategy RPG › Strategy RPG + Political Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Political Sim Strategy RPG?

Strategy RPG + Political Sim

Of 36 developers who shipped a Political Sim Strategy RPG 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.. 76 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×5.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $660k, ×1060 the market median. Revenue is up 245% on the market; 76 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 245% on the market, 76 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy RPG + Political Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $239 → $58k → $1.7k → $832 → $16k → $1.3k (still earning) → $3.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy RPG + Political Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $600 (exactly $600)
Median $3.3k (exactly $3,297)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,728)
Top 5% $666k (exactly $665,667)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 88
Announced 76
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 245% on the market, supply 75% 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 RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Political Sim
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 RPG, Political Sim; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sandbox, Simulation, Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $28.00 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $28.00 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 70% positive over 4,934 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $3.3k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $660k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 76 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Strategy RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SportsFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 26 announced
  2. + SwordplayFair22 devs · median $2.7k · 28 announced
  3. + Bullet HellFair40 devs · median $2.0k · 31 announced
  4. + EconomyFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced
  5. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  6. + ConspiracyFair19 devs · median $1.2k · 21 announced
  7. + Shop KeeperFair21 devs · median $987 · 25 announced
  8. + 2D PlatformerFair108 devs · median $479 · 113 announced
  9. + Point & ClickFair43 devs · median $450 · 47 announced
  10. + Turn-BasedPoor odds58 devs · median $63k · 76 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds30 devs · median $35k · 41 announced
  12. + 4XPoor odds15 devs · median $31k · 33 announced

All 158 pairs on the Strategy RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Suzerain 2020 · $6.3M Ascension 2025 · EA · $1.5M Mandate Order 2026 · EA · $666k Rise Of The White Sun - 白日升 2023 · $541k Immortal Family 2024 · $509k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Suzerain older $19.99 10,574 92% 317k $6.3M (exactly $6,341,228) Torpor Games
Ascension · EA $19.99 2,437 60% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,461,469) Element Game 微元游戏
Mandate Order · EA $19.99 1,110 81% 33k $666k (exactly $665,667) Digital Sky
Rise Of The White Sun - 白日升 older $24.99 721 86% 22k $541k (exactly $540,534) Maestro Cinetik
Immortal Family older $13.99 1,213 54% 36k $509k (exactly $509,096) 一起来修仙工作室
The Shrouded Isle older $12.99 1,166 71% 35k $454k (exactly $454,390) Jongwoo Kim, Erica Lahaie, FX Bilodeau,… (Jongwoo Kim, Erica Lahaie, FX Bilodeau, Tanya Short)
Base One older $24.99 458 36% 14k $343k (exactly $343,363) PixFroze
The End of History · EA $28.00 366 68% 11k $307k (exactly $307,440) Tatamibeya
Crisis in the Kremlin older $4.99 1,372 83% 41k $205k (exactly $205,388) Nostalgames
China: Mao's legacy older $6.99 978 90% 29k $205k (exactly $205,087) Nostalgames
Astrobuilder $14.99 350 88% 11k $157k (exactly $157,395) wastudio
Monarch : Medieval Remastered $11.99 365 80% 11k $131k (exactly $131,290) Mr.Lordy
Demon Maiden and Slave Summoning $10.99 106 82% 3.2k $35k (exactly $34,948) Sunspot
Political Arena · EA $14.99 69 73% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,029) Wayside Press
The Guild 1 Remake: Europa 1410 · EA $29.99 23 60% 690 $21k (exactly $20,693) Ashborne Games
QSVT: ¡Que se vayan todos! $6.99 75 88% 2.3k $16k (exactly $15,728) Sendero tecnológico
Statecraft: Corrupted Democracy $9.99 33 90% 990 $9.9k (exactly $9,890) Engincan Çiçek, Bad Engine Studio

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