Do I ship it?

GamesStrategyStrategy + Quick-Time Events

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Quick-Time Events Strategy game?

Strategy + Quick-Time Events

Of 107 developers who shipped a Quick-Time Events Strategy 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.. 97 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 69 developers shipped in the last year and 97 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 97 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy + Quick-Time Events
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 107
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $60 → $478 → $1.2k → $300 → $449 → $299 (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy + Quick-Time Events: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 107
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $1.6k (exactly $1,556)
Top 5% $24k (exactly $23,653)
Developers, 2 yr 107
Released games 211
Announced 97
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 25% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Quick-Time Events
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, Quick-Time Events; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, RPG
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 6,786 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $450, 1 in 4 over $1.5k, 1 in 20 over $23k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 48 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 97 games are announced against 69 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds50 devs · median $65k · 27 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair62 devs · median $16k · 74 announced
  3. + BaseballFair14 devs · median $7.5k · 7 announced
  4. + LGBTQ+Fair89 devs · median $6.7k · 91 announced
  5. + WuxiaFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 41 announced
  6. + FarmingFair44 devs · median $4.3k · 42 announced
  7. + Martial ArtsFair81 devs · median $3.0k · 94 announced
  8. + SubmarineFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  9. + NavalFair66 devs · median $2.2k · 88 announced
  10. + IdlerFair696 devs · median $1.9k · 988 announced
  11. + Shop KeeperFair159 devs · median $1.8k · 264 announced
  12. + HackingFair96 devs · median $1.2k · 132 announced

All 275 pairs on the Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Thriving City: Song older $18.99 3,054 81% 92k $1.7M (exactly $1,739,864) White Star Studio
Ship, Inc. $9.99 2,168 83% 65k $650k (exactly $649,750) Rogue Duck Interactive
Lost But Found $6.99 2,316 71% 69k $486k (exactly $485,665) Rogue Duck Interactive
Superscout older $17.99 652 75% 20k $352k (exactly $351,884) Mountain and Sea Studio
Cats & Cups $9.99 1,047 89% 31k $314k (exactly $313,786) Rogue Duck Interactive
Nothing To Declare $9.99 234 76% 7.0k $70k (exactly $70,130) Rogue Duck Interactive
Sorry! I surrounded beauty! $5.99 344 82% 10k $62k (exactly $61,817) Really Games
我的同事不对劲 $8.99 215 89% 6.5k $58k (exactly $57,986) 11J Studio
Magin: The Rat Project Stories $19.99 79 69% 2.4k $47k (exactly $47,376) The Rat Project
Couple-Cultivation Saves the World $7.99 196 59% 5.9k $47k (exactly $46,981) Guns&Roses Studio
Frog Jump $4.99 158 86% 4.7k $24k (exactly $23,653) SlugShot Games
Type or Die $13.99 29 31% 870 $12k (exactly $12,171) Type or Die

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