Games › Real-Time with Pause › Real-Time with Pause + Simulation
Should I ship a Simulation Real-Time with Pause game?
Real-Time with Pause + Simulation
Of 37 developers who shipped a Simulation Real-Time with Pause 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, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $36k, ×24 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $15k; 1 in 20 cleared $9.8M, ×6549 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 75 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $15k (exactly $14,748) |
|---|---|
| Median | $36k (exactly $35,600) |
| Top 25% | $215k (exactly $214,693) |
| Top 5% | $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 37 |
| Released games | 204 |
| Announced | 75 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 30% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 5%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Real-Time with Pause
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Real-Time with Pause, Simulation; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Resource Management, Management
- Price point
- $14.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Difficult
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 35,225 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $15k. 5 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Real-Time with Pause with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + CombatStrong odds
- + ActionFair
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + AdventurePoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + ExplorationPoor odds
- + Choices MatterPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + MedievalPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
- + SurvivalPoor odds
Comparable games
Hearts of Iron IV 2016 · $412M 
Stellaris 2016 · $210M 
Cities: Skylines 2015 · $198M 
Crusader Kings III 2020 · $142M 
Europa Universalis IV 2013 · $141M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hearts of Iron IV | older | $49.99 | 274,901 90% | 8.2M | $412M (exactly $412,269,030) | Paradox Development Studio |
| | Stellaris | older | $49.99 | 139,718 85% | 4.2M | $210M (exactly $209,535,085) | Paradox Development Studio |
| | Cities: Skylines | older | $29.99 | 220,465 92% | 6.6M | $198M (exactly $198,352,360) | Colossal Order |
| | Crusader Kings III | older | $49.99 | 94,615 90% | 2.8M | $142M (exactly $141,894,116) | Paradox Development Studio |
| | Europa Universalis IV | older | $49.99 | 94,114 87% | 2.8M | $141M (exactly $141,142,766) | Paradox Development Studio, Paradox Tin… (Paradox Development Studio, Paradox Tinto) |
 | Frostpunk | older | $29.99 | 114,376 92% | 3.4M | $103M (exactly $102,904,087) | 11 bit studios |
 | Victoria 3 | older | $49.99 | 41,251 71% | 1.2M | $62M (exactly $61,864,125) | Paradox Development 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)) |
 | Imperator: Rome | older | $39.99 | 19,492 65% | 585k | $23M (exactly $23,384,552) | Paradox Development Studio |
 | FTL: Faster Than Light | older | $9.99 | 62,763 94% | 1.9M | $19M (exactly $18,810,071) | Subset Games |
 | Terra Invicta | $39.99 | 9,057 80% | 272k | $11M (exactly $10,865,683) | Pavonis Interactive | |
 | Diplomacy is Not an Option | $29.99 | 10,904 85% | 327k | $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) | Door 407 | |
 | Hollywood Animal | · EA | $19.99 | 3,845 73% | 115k | $2.3M (exactly $2,305,846) | Weappy Wholesome |
 | Void War | $19.99 | 3,653 94% | 110k | $2.2M (exactly $2,190,704) | Tundra | |
 | House of Legacy | · EA | $14.99 | 3,269 84% | 98k | $1.5M (exactly $1,470,069) | S3 Studio |
 | Laysara: Summit Kingdom | $24.99 | 1,421 80% | 43k | $1.1M (exactly $1,065,324) | Quite OK Games | |
 | Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes | $24.99 | 1,039 76% | 31k | $779k (exactly $778,938) | Alt Shift | |
 | Let Them Trade | $17.99 | 1,070 84% | 32k | $577k (exactly $577,479) | Spaceflower | |
 | Solar Nations 2 | · EA | $14.99 | 609 85% | 18k | $274k (exactly $273,867) | Flomgus Games |
 | Here Comes The Swarm | · EA | $19.99 | 358 84% | 11k | $215k (exactly $214,693) | CableHook Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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