Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + Rome

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roman RTS?

RTS + Rome

Only 12 developers shipped a Roman RTS 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, Anno 117: Pax Romana, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 13 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $64k, ×43 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $3.4k. Revenue is up 1695% on the market; 13 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 42.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 1695% on the market, 13 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Rome
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.4k → $556k → $72k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Rome: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $3.4k (exactly $3,352)
Median $64k (exactly $63,724)
Top 25% $183k (exactly $182,908)
Top 5% $22M (exactly $21,866,355)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 44
Announced 13
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $19.99

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 1695% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
RTS
Price point
$19.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 70% positive over 13,683 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.4k, median $64k, 1 in 4 over $180k, 1 in 20 over $21M.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.4k. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 13 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Outbreak SimFair16 devs · median $2.6k · 14 announced
  2. + HorrorFair20 devs · median $2.4k · 27 announced
  3. + NavalFair15 devs · median $2.4k · 21 announced
  4. + TabletopFair25 devs · median $1.9k · 33 announced
  5. + SportsLong shot19 devs · median $861 · 9 announced
  6. + PuzzleLong shot48 devs · median $479 · 40 announced
  7. + World War IIPoor odds23 devs · median $105k · 38 announced
  8. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds28 devs · median $64k · 41 announced
  9. + Open WorldPoor odds45 devs · median $35k · 100 announced
  10. + Colony SimPoor odds87 devs · median $31k · 159 announced
  11. + HistoricalPoor odds108 devs · median $30k · 180 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds23 devs · median $22k · 48 announced

All 149 pairs on the RTS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition 2013 · $49M Imperator: Rome 2019 · $23M Anno 117: Pax Romana 2025 · $22M Total War: ATTILA 2015 · $16M Total War: ROME REMASTERED 2021 · $11M
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
Imperator: Rome older $39.99 19,492 65% 585k $23M (exactly $23,384,552) Paradox Development Studio
Anno 117: Pax Romana $59.99 12,150 69% 365k $22M (exactly $21,866,355) Ubisoft Mainz
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
Total War: PHARAOH older $29.99 3,622 63% 109k $3.3M (exactly $3,258,713) CREATIVE ASSEMBLY
Roman Triumph: Survival City Builder $24.99 742 83% 22k $556k (exactly $556,277) Coreffect Interactive
Praetorians - HD Remaster older $19.99 851 92% 26k $510k (exactly $510,345) Torus Games, Pyro Studios
Hegemony III: Clash of the Ancients older $29.99 507 82% 15k $456k (exactly $456,148) Longbow Games
Ancient Wars: Sparta Definitive Edition · EA older $19.99 453 74% 14k $272k (exactly $271,664) JOTASOFT STUDIOS
Summa Expeditionis $19.99 305 68% 9.2k $183k (exactly $182,908) Lobico Games
Strategos · EA $24.99 233 85% 7.0k $175k (exactly $174,680) Strategos Games
Fall of an Empire $29.99 80 67% 2.4k $72k (exactly $71,976) JG Games
Orbi Universo II $24.99 85 75% 2.6k $64k (exactly $63,724) Orbi Universo Team
Explorers of Esmar · EA $15.99 35 85% 1.1k $17k (exactly $16,790) Tipri Games
Tribe Nation $9.99 24 79% 720 $7.2k (exactly $7,193) Random Worlds s.r.o.
Grow Empire: Rome $3.99 28 64% 840 $3.4k (exactly $3,352) Games Station
RIXE $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) OURAGAN

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