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Should I ship a Political Sim Wargame?
Wargame + Political Sim
Of 61 developers who shipped a Political Sim Wargame 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.. 86 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.7k, ×9.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×436 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 86 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.4k (exactly $1,436) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.7k (exactly $5,694) |
| Top 25% | $54k (exactly $53,978) |
| Top 5% | $274k (exactly $273,867) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 61 |
| Released games | 147 |
| Announced | 86 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Wargame
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Political Sim
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Wargame, Political Sim; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Grand Strategy, Simulation
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 6,684 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 6 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 86 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Wargame with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + NavalFair
- + TabletopFair
- + LogicFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + StealthPoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
Comparable games
Total Conflict: Resistance 2023 · EA · $4.6M 
Ages of Conflict: World War Simulator 2023 · EA · $1.9M 
Power & Revolution 2022 Edition 2022 · $1.2M 
Power & Revolution 2020 Edition 2020 · $1.2M 
Fantasy Map Simulator 2024 · EA · $1.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Total Conflict: Resistance | · EA older | $29.99 | 5,089 74% | 153k | $4.6M (exactly $4,578,573) | Thunder Devs. |
| | Ages of Conflict: World War Simulator | · EA older | $6.99 | 8,904 96% | 267k | $1.9M (exactly $1,867,169) | JoySpark Games |
| | Power & Revolution 2022 Edition | older | $49.99 | 815 60% | 24k | $1.2M (exactly $1,222,256) | Eversim |
| | Power & Revolution 2020 Edition | older | $49.99 | 769 63% | 23k | $1.2M (exactly $1,153,269) | Eversim |
| | Fantasy Map Simulator | · EA older | $7.99 | 4,190 89% | 126k | $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) | The Stranger |
 | Power & Revolution 2021 Edition | older | $49.99 | 629 56% | 19k | $943k (exactly $943,311) | Eversim |
 | SuperPower 3 | older | $29.99 | 982 10% | 29k | $884k (exactly $883,505) | GolemLabs |
 | Ancient Warfare: The Han Dynasty | · EA older | $16.99 | 1,708 69% | 51k | $871k (exactly $870,568) | 不秋草游戏工作室(Bamboo Games) |
 | Age of History 2: Definitive Edition | $9.99 | 2,600 83% | 78k | $779k (exactly $779,220) | Łukasz Jakowski | |
 | Twilight Struggle | older | $9.99 | 2,568 86% | 77k | $770k (exactly $769,630) | Playdek, Inc. |
 | 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 | |
 | Solar Nations 2 | · EA | $14.99 | 609 85% | 18k | $274k (exactly $273,867) | Flomgus Games |
 | NationWar2:Chronicle | $16.99 | 378 78% | 11k | $193k (exactly $192,667) | Yiming | |
 | Realpolitiks 3: Earth and Beyond | $24.99 | 253 39% | 7.6k | $190k (exactly $189,674) | Jujubee | |
 | Age of Clicks | · EA | $12.99 | 472 65% | 14k | $184k (exactly $183,938) | David Ius |
 | Monarch : Medieval Remastered | $11.99 | 365 80% | 11k | $131k (exactly $131,290) | Mr.Lordy | |
 | King's Orders | $14.99 | 257 70% | 7.7k | $116k (exactly $115,573) | AFTERLIFE👻 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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