Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + Stealth

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Stealth RTS?

RTS + Stealth

Of 20 developers who shipped a Stealth 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.. 27 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 $2.1k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $2.7M, ×1846 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 27 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 27 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Stealth
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $898 → $12k → $1.6k → $1.4M → $2.1k → $90 (still earning) → $120 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Stealth: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,097)
Top 25% $266k (exactly $266,267)
Top 5% $2.8M (exactly $2,765,447)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 54
Announced 27
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.99

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 100% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 2%, 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
Stealth
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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, Stealth; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Online Co-Op, Real Time Tactics, Strategy
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Isometric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 8,786 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 $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $260k, 1 in 20 over $2.7M.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 5 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 12 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

Kenshi 2018 · $89M Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun 2016 · $37M Aliens: Dark Descent 2023 · $18M Desperados III 2020 · $14M Commandos: Origins 2025 · $2.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Kenshi older $29.99 98,451 95% 3.0M $89M (exactly $88,576,365) Lo-Fi Games
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun older $39.99 30,845 96% 925k $37M (exactly $37,004,746) Mimimi Games
Aliens: Dark Descent older $39.99 15,310 87% 459k $18M (exactly $18,367,407) Tindalos Interactive
Desperados III older $39.99 11,880 96% 356k $14M (exactly $14,252,436) Mimimi Games
Commandos: Origins $49.99 1,844 79% 55k $2.8M (exactly $2,765,447) Claymore Game Studios
War Mongrels older $44.99 1,826 72% 55k $2.5M (exactly $2,464,552) Destructive Creations
Shadow Tactics: Aiko's Choice older $19.99 3,965 93% 119k $2.4M (exactly $2,377,810) Mimimi Games
Satellite Reign older $29.99 2,619 75% 79k $2.4M (exactly $2,356,314) 5 Lives Studios
Survivalist: Invisible Strain $11.99 4,014 87% 120k $1.4M (exactly $1,443,836) Bob
ERA ONE · EA $29.99 1,575 86% 47k $1.4M (exactly $1,417,028) Team Complex LTD
63 Days $29.99 413 72% 12k $372k (exactly $371,576) Destructive Creations
Space Reign $19.99 444 72% 13k $266k (exactly $266,267) Propulsive Games
PROHIBEAST $34.99 121 57% 3.6k $127k (exactly $127,014) SUPER AC
Dying Breed · EA $17.99 218 71% 6.5k $118k (exactly $117,655) Sarnayer
Silent Shark $17.99 125 98% 3.8k $67k (exactly $67,462) John Goering
Jelly Troops $8.99 22 90% 660 $5.9k (exactly $5,933) Nukenin
A Fistful Of Yankees $6.99 10 90% 300 $2.1k (exactly $2,097) Pulsar Creation

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