Games › Real-Time › Real-Time + Simulation
Should I ship a Simulation Real-Time game?
Real-Time + Simulation
Of 25 developers who shipped a Simulation Real-Time 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.. 43 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $22k, ×34 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $9.1M, ×14589 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 43 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $3.6k (exactly $3,599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $22k (exactly $21,589) |
| Top 25% | $276k (exactly $276,462) |
| Top 5% | $9.2M (exactly $9,161,667) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 178 |
| Announced | 43 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $15.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Real-Time
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Real-Time, Simulation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Sandbox, Base Building
- Price point
- $15.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, Atmospheric, Difficult
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $15.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 80,179 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $3.6k. 5 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Real-Time with a different second tag, 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
Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition 2026 · $126M 
Company of Heroes 2 2013 · $41M 
Age of Mythology: Extended Edition 2014 · $29M 
Wargame: Red Dragon 2014 · $14M 
Homeworld 3 2024 · $9.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition | $59.99 | 70,073 78% | 2.1M | $126M (exactly $126,110,378) | Asobo Studio | |
| | Company of Heroes 2 | older | $19.99 | 68,909 80% | 2.1M | $41M (exactly $41,324,727) | Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive… (Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)) |
| | Age of Mythology: Extended Edition | older | $29.99 | 31,869 93% | 956k | $29M (exactly $28,672,539) | SkyBox Labs, Ensemble Studios, Forgotte… (SkyBox Labs, Ensemble Studios, Forgotten Empires) |
| | Wargame: Red Dragon | older | $29.99 | 15,758 88% | 473k | $14M (exactly $14,177,473) | Eugen Systems |
| | Homeworld 3 | older | $59.99 | 5,436 38% | 163k | $9.8M (exactly $9,783,169) | Blackbird Interactive |
 | Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age | · EA | $49.99 | 6,109 90% | 183k | $9.2M (exactly $9,161,667) | Triassic Games |
 | Freeman: Guerrilla Warfare | older | $24.99 | 11,489 64% | 345k | $8.6M (exactly $8,613,303) | KK Game Studio |
 | Starship Troopers: Terran Command | older | $29.99 | 9,214 87% | 276k | $8.3M (exactly $8,289,836) | The Artistocrats |
 | Rise of Nations: Extended Edition | older | $19.99 | 13,358 94% | 401k | $8.0M (exactly $8,010,793) | SkyBox Labs, Big Huge Games |
 | Call to Arms | older | $14.99 | 17,431 80% | 523k | $7.8M (exactly $7,838,721) | Digitalmindsoft |
 | Endzone 2 | $29.99 | 894 65% | 27k | $804k (exactly $804,332) | Gentlymad Studios | |
 | Task Force Admiral - Vol.1: American Carrier Battles | · EA | $39.99 | 633 87% | 19k | $759k (exactly $759,410) | Drydock Dreams Games |
 | Builders of Greece | $19.99 | 537 54% | 16k | $322k (exactly $322,039) | BLUM Entertainment, Strategy Labs | |
 | Castle Craft | $19.99 | 480 82% | 14k | $288k (exactly $287,856) | Twin Earth | |
 | Builders of Egypt | $19.99 | 461 31% | 14k | $276k (exactly $276,462) | Strategy Labs | |
 | Mini Settlers | $12.99 | 592 85% | 18k | $231k (exactly $230,702) | Knight Owl Games | |
 | Outside the Blocks | $14.99 | 192 87% | 5.8k | $86k (exactly $86,342) | Michał Kubas | |
 | Final Outpost: Definitive Edition | $9.99 | 208 76% | 6.2k | $62k (exactly $62,338) | Exabyte Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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