Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Strategy › Turn-Based Strategy + Rome

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roman Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + Rome

Only 15 developers shipped a Roman Turn-Based Strategy 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, Blackthorn Arena: Reforged, 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: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $9.0k, ×14 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $900. Revenue is up 3675% on the market; 18 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 14.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 3675% on the market, 18 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Strategy + Rome
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $14k → $1.0k → $175k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + Rome: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $899 (exactly $899)
Median $9.0k (exactly $8,997)
Top 25% $216k (exactly $215,784)
Top 5% $661k (exactly $661,235)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 49
Announced 18
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 3675% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Turn-Based Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Rome
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Strategy; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, RPG, Simulation
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 3,146 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $9.0k, 1 in 4 over $210k, 1 in 20 over $660k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 18 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $19k · 17 announced
  2. + Cold WarFair18 devs · median $9.9k · 22 announced
  3. + LootFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  4. + MiningFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  5. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $3.7k · 12 announced
  6. + IdlerFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  7. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  8. + TanksFair25 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  9. + SokobanFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  10. + Top-Down ShooterFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  11. + SpaceFair107 devs · median $1.5k · 143 announced
  12. + SteampunkFair25 devs · median $1.5k · 30 announced

All 187 pairs on the Turn-Based Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition 2013 · $49M Total War: ATTILA 2015 · $16M Total War: ROME REMASTERED 2021 · $11M Expeditions: Rome 2022 · $7.0M Total War: PHARAOH 2023 · $3.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition older $29.99 54,547 87% 1.6M $49M (exactly $49,075,936) CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive
Total War: ATTILA older $19.99 26,918 82% 808k $16M (exactly $16,142,725) CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive
Total War: ROME REMASTERED older $29.99 12,627 77% 379k $11M (exactly $11,360,512) Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive
Expeditions: Rome older $44.99 5,156 86% 155k $7.0M (exactly $6,959,053) Logic Artists
Total War: PHARAOH older $29.99 3,622 63% 109k $3.3M (exactly $3,258,713) CREATIVE ASSEMBLY
The Age of Decadence older $14.99 3,582 82% 107k $1.6M (exactly $1,610,825) Iron Tower Studio
Field of Glory: Empires older $39.99 734 81% 22k $881k (exactly $880,580) Ageod
Blackthorn Arena: Reforged $24.99 882 66% 26k $661k (exactly $661,235) PersonaeGame Studio
Field of Glory II older $29.99 705 87% 21k $634k (exactly $634,288) Byzantine Games
Warriors of the Nile 2 older $14.99 1,180 88% 35k $531k (exactly $530,646) Stove Studio
Bloodgrounds $19.99 561 77% 17k $336k (exactly $336,432) Exordium Games
Never Second in Rome $12.99 637 81% 19k $248k (exactly $248,239) Alessandro Roberti
Gods of Sand $9.99 720 86% 22k $216k (exactly $215,784) Achenar Studios
Strategos · EA $24.99 233 85% 7.0k $175k (exactly $174,680) Strategos Games
Wings of Empire · EA $14.99 49 87% 1.5k $22k (exactly $22,035) Droid Productions
Demiurges $14.99 36 88% 1.1k $16k (exactly $16,189) Berih
Hispania $29.99 10 40% 300 $9.0k (exactly $8,997) Avalon Digital, Headquarter, Pixel Ratio
Roman General · EA $8.99 11 100% 330 $3.0k (exactly $2,967) Moore Games
Arena Monarchy · EA $4.99 7 100% 210 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) Kevin Zhang

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