Do I ship it?

Games › Procedural Generation › Procedural Generation + War

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a War Procedural Generation game?

Procedural Generation + War

Of 63 developers who shipped a War Procedural Generation 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.. 100 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×5.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×2111 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 100 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 100 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Procedural Generation + War
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 63
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.0k → $898 → $1.8k → $5.4k → $7.2k → $11k → $3.0k (still earning) → $3.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Procedural Generation + War: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 63
Bottom 30% $598 (exactly $598)
Median $3.3k (exactly $3,293)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $16,184)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,325,716)
Developers, 2 yr 63
Released games 149
Announced 100
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 35% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Procedural Generation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
War
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Procedural Generation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Tactical, Simulation
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 18,312 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 $16k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 100 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Procedural Generation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SnowFair11 devs · median $3.0k · 16 announced
  2. + Traditional RoguelikeFair71 devs · median $2.0k · 93 announced
  3. + DetectiveFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 30 announced
  4. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $1.3k · 23 announced
  5. + TypingFair26 devs · median $1.1k · 11 announced
  6. + IdlerFair98 devs · median $807 · 107 announced
  7. + LogicFair137 devs · median $478 · 149 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair57 devs · median $449 · 62 announced
  9. + Precision PlatformerFair49 devs · median $449 · 42 announced
  10. + Hidden ObjectFair58 devs · median $418 · 56 announced
  11. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds31 devs · median $77k · 95 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds22 devs · median $30k · 35 announced

All 222 pairs on the Procedural Generation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Galactic Civilizations III 2015 · $7.5M Sprocket 2021 · EA · $7.4M Master of Command 2025 · $3.5M Tower Dominion 2025 · $2.7M Nordhold 2025 · $1.7M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Galactic Civilizations III older $29.99 8,337 77% 250k $7.5M (exactly $7,500,799) Stardock Entertainment
Sprocket · EA older $19.99 12,336 92% 370k $7.4M (exactly $7,397,899) Hamish Dunn
Master of Command $29.99 3,840 92% 115k $3.5M (exactly $3,454,848) Armchair Interactive
Tower Dominion $17.49 5,117 85% 154k $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) Parallel 45 Games
Nordhold $19.99 2,875 87% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,724,137) StunForge
How Many Dudes? $14.99 2,948 89% 88k $1.3M (exactly $1,325,716) Butterscotch Shenanigans
Fantasy Map Simulator · EA older $7.99 4,190 89% 126k $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) The Stranger
Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter older $29.99 852 73% 26k $767k (exactly $766,544) Iron Wolf Studio S.A.
GERONIMO · EA $19.99 1,267 81% 38k $760k (exactly $759,820) Dark Matter Studios
From Glory To Goo · EA older $11.99 1,794 96% 54k $645k (exactly $645,302) Stratagem Blue
Moros Protocol $24.99 731 81% 22k $548k (exactly $548,031) Pixel Reign
IDUN - Frontline Survival $14.99 685 77% 21k $308k (exactly $308,044) IDUN Interactive
The End of History · EA $28.00 366 68% 11k $307k (exactly $307,440) Tatamibeya
Block Fortress 2 $19.99 264 81% 7.9k $158k (exactly $158,321) Foursaken Media
Yield! Fall of Rome $19.99 219 69% 6.6k $131k (exactly $131,334) Billionworlds

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