Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + Robots

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Robot RTS?

RTS + Robots

Of 21 developers who shipped a Robot RTS 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.. 57 more are announced, ×5.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×930 the market median. Revenue is up 330% on the market; 57 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 330% on the market, 57 announced, ×5.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Robots
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $479 → $23k → $2.9k → $90 → $1.7k → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Robots: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,468)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $20,390)
Top 5% $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 94
Announced 57
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 330% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

RTS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Robots
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
RTS; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Real Time Tactics, Action
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 20,276 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

RTS with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomeFair12 devs · median $64k · 13 announced
  2. + Outbreak SimFair16 devs · median $2.6k · 14 announced
  3. + HorrorFair20 devs · median $2.4k · 27 announced
  4. + NavalFair15 devs · median $2.4k · 21 announced
  5. + TabletopFair25 devs · median $1.9k · 33 announced
  6. + SportsLong shot19 devs · median $861 · 9 announced
  7. + PuzzleLong shot48 devs · median $479 · 40 announced
  8. + World War IIPoor odds23 devs · median $105k · 38 announced
  9. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds28 devs · median $64k · 41 announced
  10. + Open WorldPoor odds45 devs · median $35k · 100 announced
  11. + Colony SimPoor odds87 devs · median $31k · 159 announced
  12. + HistoricalPoor odds108 devs · median $30k · 180 announced

All 149 pairs on the RTS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Planetary Annihilation: TITANS 2015 · $10M Outpost: Infinity Siege 2024 · $8.7M Mechabellum 2024 · $8.0M Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance 2011 · $3.9M Supreme Commander 2 2010 · $3.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Planetary Annihilation: TITANS older $29.99 11,401 84% 342k $10M (exactly $10,257,480) Planetary Annihilation Inc
Outpost: Infinity Siege older $24.99 11,636 65% 349k $8.7M (exactly $8,723,509) Team Ranger
Mechabellum $14.99 17,856 84% 536k $8.0M (exactly $8,029,843) Game River
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance older $12.99 9,919 96% 298k $3.9M (exactly $3,865,434) Gas Powered Games
Supreme Commander 2 older $12.99 8,349 87% 250k $3.3M (exactly $3,253,605) Gas Powered Games
Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation older $29.99 2,704 76% 81k $2.4M (exactly $2,432,789) Stardock Entertainment, Oxide Games
Grey Goo older $29.99 2,602 69% 78k $2.3M (exactly $2,341,019) Petroglyph, Six Foot
Miasma Chronicles older $34.99 2,013 79% 60k $2.1M (exactly $2,113,046) The Bearded Ladies
Taur older $24.99 2,011 79% 60k $1.5M (exactly $1,507,647) Echo Entertainment
ZeroSpace · EA $39.99 1,161 78% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852) Starlance Studios, Ironward
Axon TD: Uprising - Tower Defense $19.99 706 85% 21k $423k (exactly $423,388) Element Studios
Annihilate The Spance · EA $29.99 347 90% 10k $312k (exactly $312,196) Skyglow Softworks
Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids $29.99 90 83% 2.7k $81k (exactly $80,973) Snapshot Games Inc.
Stellar Reach $19.99 34 79% 1.0k $20k (exactly $20,390) Stelleas
INSANIO $9.99 48 66% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,386) somebody
Millennium Conflict $3.99 17 100% 510 $2.0k (exactly $2,035) Badim
Decimation · EA $5.99 10 100% 300 $1.8k (exactly $1,797) Elementum Software Development Services
TechGuardian: Territory Defense $7.99 7 14% 210 $1.7k (exactly $1,678) Apex Horizon

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