Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Score Attack RTS?

RTS + Score Attack

Of 21 developers who shipped a Score Attack 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.. 25 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 25 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper, while revenue is down 70% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 25 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Score Attack
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: $239 → $1.2k → $179 → $9.6k → $719 → $119 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $598 (exactly $598)
Top 25% $9.6k (exactly $9,595)
Top 5% $89k (exactly $88,591)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 45
Announced 25
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 70% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
RTS, Score Attack; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Tower Defense, Building
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Cartoony
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 1,163 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $600, 1 in 4 over $9.5k, 1 in 20 over $88k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

RTS with a different second tag, 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

Element TD 2 - Tower Defense 2021 · $1.3M Axon TD: Uprising - Tower Defense 2024 · $423k Check Inn 2025 · $89k IRON GUARD: Salvation 2025 · $24k Stick Infinite Kingdom 2025 · $16k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Element TD 2 - Tower Defense older $14.99 2,848 90% 85k $1.3M (exactly $1,280,746) Element Studios
Axon TD: Uprising - Tower Defense $19.99 706 85% 21k $423k (exactly $423,388) Element Studios
Check Inn $14.99 197 84% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) KishMish Games
IRON GUARD: Salvation $17.99 44 93% 1.3k $24k (exactly $23,747) Xlab Digital
Stick Infinite Kingdom $9.99 55 65% 1.7k $16k (exactly $16,484) Arckon Arts
Elemental War 2 older $19.99 25 72% 750 $15k (exactly $14,992) Clockwork Origins
Neon Ascending $3.99 90 82% 2.7k $11k (exactly $10,773) TheCarmineDepth
Elemental War - A Tower Defense Game older $14.99 22 72% 660 $9.9k (exactly $9,893) Clockwork Origins
Elemental War Clash $19.99 16 81% 480 $9.6k (exactly $9,595) Clockwork Origins
Survivors: Three Kingdoms older $2.99 85 55% 2.6k $7.6k (exactly $7,625) T3Entertainment
ModernFire · EA $9.99 21 90% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) FireLineGames
HoloCafe $4.99 28 100% 840 $4.2k (exactly $4,192) Kevinfu510
HyperCoven $5.99 4 100% 120 $719 (exactly $719) Hyperkobel
Network Notation $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Matchbox Games LLC

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