Games › PvE › PvE + World War II
Should I ship a WWII PvE game?
PvE + World War II
Of 20 developers who shipped a WWII PvE 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.. 49 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $1.7M, ×2761 the market median. Revenue is up 290% on the market; 49 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,373) |
| Top 25% | $32k (exactly $32,384) |
| Top 5% | $1.7M (exactly $1,733,722) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 20 |
| Released games | 61 |
| Announced | 49 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 290% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- PvE
- effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
- World War II
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- PvE; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Wargame, Action
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, Third Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 3,131 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 49 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + TypingFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + HeistPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + SpaceshipsPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
Comparable games
Company of Heroes 3 2023 · $44M 
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront 2021 · $34M 
Zombie Army 4: Dead War 2021 · $15M 
Call of Duty®: Vanguard 2023 · $7.5M 
Sprocket 2021 · EA · $7.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Company of Heroes 3 | older | $59.99 | 24,516 59% | 735k | $44M (exactly $44,121,445) | Relic Entertainment |
| | Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront | older | $34.99 | 32,183 85% | 965k | $34M (exactly $33,782,495) | Barbedwire Studios, Digitalmindsoft |
| | Zombie Army 4: Dead War | older | $49.99 | 10,028 86% | 301k | $15M (exactly $15,038,992) | Rebellion |
| | Call of Duty®: Vanguard | older | $59.99 | 4,172 67% | 125k | $7.5M (exactly $7,508,348) | Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, High Moon… (Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, High Moon Studios, Raven Software, Beenox, Demonware) |
| | Sprocket | · EA older | $19.99 | 12,336 92% | 370k | $7.4M (exactly $7,397,899) | Hamish Dunn |
 | Call to Arms: Panzer Elite | · EA | $29.99 | 1,927 69% | 58k | $1.7M (exactly $1,733,722) | Digitalmindsoft |
 | The Troop | older | $39.99 | 816 83% | 24k | $979k (exactly $978,955) | Giant Flame |
 | Task Force Admiral - Vol.1: American Carrier Battles | · EA | $39.99 | 633 87% | 19k | $759k (exactly $759,410) | Drydock Dreams Games |
 | Hex of Steel | older | $24.99 | 863 95% | 26k | $647k (exactly $646,991) | War Frogs Studio |
 | SHIPS AT WAR | · EA older | $14.99 | 369 76% | 11k | $166k (exactly $165,939) | Golddorf Spieleentwicklung |
 | Vincemus - Air Combat | $14.99 | 114 82% | 3.4k | $51k (exactly $51,266) | Virtual Convict | |
 | ShipCrafter | · EA | $7.99 | 209 90% | 6.3k | $50k (exactly $50,097) | Myrmecoman |
 | Battlefield Commander WWII | · EA | $19.99 | 54 70% | 1.6k | $32k (exactly $32,384) | Sword of Steel |
 | Pact of Steel | $14.99 | 12 83% | 360 | $5.4k (exactly $5,396) | Steel Potato Games LLC | |
 | Valor 1944 | $9.99 | 14 92% | 420 | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) | Sunroom Games | |
 | HITLER WAIFU 2 | · EA | $0.99 | 131 95% | 3.9k | $3.9k (exactly $3,891) | Who We Are Games |
 | BIO Fault | $5.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) | IKO Games | |
 | Front Lines | $1.99 | 23 60% | 690 | $1.4k (exactly $1,373) | Waterfoul Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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