Games › Real-Time › Real-Time + Strategy
Should I ship a Strategy Real-Time game?
Real-Time + Strategy
Of 39 developers who shipped a Strategy 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.. 75 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $28k, ×45 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $11k; 1 in 20 cleared $9.1M, ×14589 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 75 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $11k (exactly $10,793) |
|---|---|
| Median | $28k (exactly $28,058) |
| Top 25% | $104k (exactly $104,330) |
| Top 5% | $9.2M (exactly $9,161,667) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 39 |
| Released games | 306 |
| Announced | 75 |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 15% 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.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Real-Time, Strategy; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Base Building, Sandbox
- Price point
- $14.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, Difficult
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 21,272 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $11k. 5 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 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
- + RTSPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
Comparable games
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition 2019 · $167M 
Age of Empires II (Retired) 2013 · $51M 
Company of Heroes 2 2013 · $41M 
Age of Mythology: Extended Edition 2014 · $29M 
Wargame: Red Dragon 2014 · $14M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition | older | $34.99 | 158,931 94% | 4.8M | $167M (exactly $166,829,871) | World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Captur… (World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, CaptureAge, Tantalus Media, Wicked Witch, Feral Interactive) |
| | Age of Empires II (Retired) | older | $19.99 | 84,818 95% | 2.5M | $51M (exactly $50,865,355) | Skybox Labs, Hidden Path Entertainment,… (Skybox Labs, Hidden Path Entertainment, Ensemble Studios, Forgotten Empires) |
| | 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 |
 | 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)) |
 | Tempest Rising | $39.99 | 9,811 87% | 294k | $12M (exactly $11,770,257) | Slipgate Ironworks™ | |
 | 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 |
 | Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age | · EA | $49.99 | 6,109 90% | 183k | $9.2M (exactly $9,161,667) | Triassic Games |
 | 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 |
 | Omelet You Cook | $14.99 | 1,523 97% | 46k | $685k (exactly $684,893) | Dan Schumacher, Hjalte Tagmose | |
 | 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 | |
 | Sin and Love | $14.99 | 232 65% | 7.0k | $104k (exactly $104,330) | XingCaiStudio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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