Games › Real-Time › Real-Time + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi Real-Time game?
Real-Time + Sci-fi
Only 17 developers shipped a Sci-fi Real-Time game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Moduwar, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 18 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×8.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $60k, ×96 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 18 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.4k (exactly $2,398) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.4k (exactly $5,396) |
| Top 25% | $16k (exactly $15,584) |
| Top 5% | $60k (exactly $60,260) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 124 |
| Announced | 18 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $14.99 |
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 65% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Real-Time; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Base Building, PvP, RTS
- Price point
- $14.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Isometric, Top-Down
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 520 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.4k. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 18 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Real-Time with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Character CustomizationStrong odds
- + RogueliteFair
- + BuildingPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + WarPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
- + WargamePoor odds
- + PhysicsPoor odds
- + Tower DefensePoor odds
- + Action RTSPoor odds
- + StrategyPoor odds
- + RTSPoor odds
Comparable games
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Anniversary Edition (Classic) 2009 · $12M 
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak 2016 · $12M 
Sins of a Solar Empire II 2024 · $11M 
Iron Harvest 2020 · $11M 
Homeworld 3 2024 · $9.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Anniversary Edition (Classic) | older | $49.99 | 8,084 85% | 243k | $12M (exactly $12,123,575) | Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive… (Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive (Mac/Linux)) |
| | Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak | older | $49.99 | 7,800 79% | 234k | $12M (exactly $11,697,660) | Blackbird Interactive |
| | Sins of a Solar Empire II | older | $49.99 | 7,147 83% | 214k | $11M (exactly $10,718,356) | Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock En… (Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock Entertainment) |
| | Iron Harvest | older | $29.99 | 11,682 74% | 350k | $11M (exactly $10,510,295) | KING Art |
| | Homeworld 3 | older | $59.99 | 5,436 38% | 163k | $9.8M (exactly $9,783,169) | Blackbird Interactive |
 | Starship Troopers: Terran Command | older | $29.99 | 9,214 87% | 276k | $8.3M (exactly $8,289,836) | The Artistocrats |
 | Anno 2070™ | older | $19.99 | 11,571 59% | 347k | $6.9M (exactly $6,939,129) | Blue Byte, Related Designs |
 | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Anniversary Edition (Classic) | older | $14.99 | 8,812 94% | 264k | $4.0M (exactly $3,962,756) | Relic Entertainment |
 | Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance | older | $12.99 | 9,919 96% | 298k | $3.9M (exactly $3,865,434) | Gas Powered Games |
 | Per Aspera | older | $29.99 | 4,105 76% | 123k | $3.7M (exactly $3,693,268) | Tlön Industries |
 | Moduwar | · EA | $14.99 | 134 88% | 4.0k | $60k (exactly $60,260) | Biohex Studios |
 | 60 Minutes to Extinction: Escape Room | $7.99 | 153 82% | 4.6k | $37k (exactly $36,674) | mc2games | |
 | Battlefall: State of Conflict | · EA | $19.99 | 52 63% | 1.6k | $31k (exactly $31,184) | Kyoto Video Game Concern |
 | Stardust Exile | $14.99 | 44 70% | 1.3k | $20k (exactly $19,787) | Apseren | |
 | Tactical Warfare | $9.99 | 52 67% | 1.6k | $16k (exactly $15,584) | Mizrab | |
 | Fleetbreakers | · EA | $14.99 | 25 96% | 750 | $11k (exactly $11,242) | Last Keep |
 | Infest | $14.99 | 24 75% | 720 | $11k (exactly $10,793) | Chute Apps | |
 | Remnants of the Rift | $14.99 | 15 86% | 450 | $6.7k (exactly $6,746) | Bromio | |
 | NULLPTR | $14.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $5.4k (exactly $5,396) | Jeferson Silva | |
 | America Against Ants | $14.99 | 9 100% | 270 | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) | Aartform Games, Mark Brendan |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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