Do I ship it?

Games › Real-Time with Pause › Real-Time with Pause + Strategy RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Strategy RPG Real-Time with Pause game?

Real-Time with Pause + Strategy RPG

Only 9 developers shipped a Strategy RPG Real-Time with Pause 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, Escape The Mad Empire, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 15 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $15k against a market of $1.5k. 15 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 10.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 220% on the market, 15 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Real-Time with Pause + Strategy RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Real-Time with Pause + Strategy RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $6.7k (exactly $6,746)
Median $15k (exactly $14,985)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $28,059)
Top 5% $219k (exactly $219,118)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 29
Announced 15
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $12.99

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 up 220% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Real-Time with Pause
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Strategy RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Real-Time with Pause, Strategy RPG
Price point
$12.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $17.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 310,553 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $6.8k, median $15k, 1 in 4 over $28k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $6.8k. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 15 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Real-Time with Pause with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + CombatStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + ActionFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  3. + Open WorldPoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  4. + AdventurePoor odds10 devs · median $561k · 7 announced
  5. + City BuilderPoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 25 announced
  6. + ExplorationPoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 24 announced
  7. + Choices MatterPoor odds9 devs · median $215k · 23 announced
  8. + HistoricalPoor odds14 devs · median $124k · 19 announced
  9. + MilitaryPoor odds11 devs · median $124k · 33 announced
  10. + MedievalPoor odds10 devs · median $87k · 22 announced
  11. + Base BuildingPoor odds20 devs · median $73k · 35 announced
  12. + SurvivalPoor odds20 devs · median $73k · 27 announced

All 41 pairs on the Real-Time with Pause page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Hearts of Iron IV 2016 · $412M Pathfinder: Kingmaker — Enhanced Plus Edition 2018 · $17M NEBULOUS: Fleet Command 2022 · EA · $3.7M The DioField Chronicle 2022 · $1.2M Polaris Sector 2016 · $503k
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
Pathfinder: Kingmaker — Enhanced Plus Edition older $19.99 28,146 77% 844k $17M (exactly $16,879,156) Owlcat Games
NEBULOUS: Fleet Command · EA older $29.99 4,074 81% 122k $3.7M (exactly $3,665,378) Eridanus Industries
The DioField Chronicle older $59.99 685 49% 21k $1.2M (exactly $1,232,794) Square Enix, LANCARSE Ltd.
Polaris Sector older $39.99 419 70% 13k $503k (exactly $502,674) SoftWarWare
The Waylanders older $34.99 350 46% 11k $367k (exactly $367,395) GATO STUDIO
The Red Solstice older $9.99 883 72% 26k $265k (exactly $264,635) Ironward
Dustwind older $24.99 341 75% 10k $256k (exactly $255,648) Dustwind Studios
Escape The Mad Empire · EA $17.99 406 88% 12k $219k (exactly $219,118) XperimentalZ Games
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows older $19.99 348 88% 10k $209k (exactly $208,696) Witching Hour Studios
Elengard: Ascension · EA $24.99 116 77% 3.5k $87k (exactly $86,965) Stèphano M. M. G.
Dustwind: Resistance $19.90 47 80% 1.4k $28k (exactly $28,059) Dustwind Studios, Z-Software
Crownbound - Fantasy Kingdom Sim $11.99 73 47% 2.2k $26k (exactly $26,258) Bart Mamzer
Skills & Raids $9.99 50 66% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) Eddie H.Hinestroza
NovaMundi $12.99 38 81% 1.1k $15k (exactly $14,809) Slashware Interactive
Remnants of the Rift $14.99 15 86% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) Bromio
Election Tycoon: Trump vs Harris $9.99 13 84% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) World Map Tycoon
RUPTURR · EA $5.99 2 100% 60 $359 (exactly $359) Aikon Interactive

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