Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management RTS?

RTS + Time Management

Of 66 developers who shipped a Time Management 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.. 89 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $810, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180. 89 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper, while revenue is up 15% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 89 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 66
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $18k → $11k → $1.2k → $779 → $809 → $779 (still earning) → $3.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 66
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $809 (exactly $809)
Top 25% $4.6k (exactly $4,554)
Top 5% $165k (exactly $164,918)
Developers, 2 yr 66
Released games 150
Announced 89
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.49

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 15% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Time Management
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, Time Management; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Management, Resource Management
Price point
$7.49 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.49.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 35,475 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $810, 1 in 4 over $4.5k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 89 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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

Farthest Frontier 2025 · $26M Infection Free Zone 2024 · EA · $12M 112 Operator 2020 · $4.3M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M Fly Corp 2023 · $1.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Farthest Frontier $34.99 24,444 86% 733k $26M (exactly $25,658,867) Crate Entertainment
Infection Free Zone · EA older $24.99 16,568 80% 497k $12M (exactly $12,421,030) Jutsu Games
112 Operator older $24.99 5,688 88% 171k $4.3M (exactly $4,264,294) Jutsu Games
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Fly Corp older $14.99 3,112 85% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,399,466) KishMish Games
Dummynation older $11.99 3,127 88% 94k $1.1M (exactly $1,124,782) Alejandro Hernández Ferrero
I am an Air Traffic Controller 4 older $59.99 566 79% 17k $1.0M (exactly $1,018,630) TechnoBrain
Republic of Pirates older $24.99 420 70% 13k $315k (exactly $314,874) Crazy Goat Games
E-Shop Tycoon $13.99 604 72% 18k $253k (exactly $253,499) Aeolian Games
King of Retail 2 · EA $19.99 275 79% 8.3k $165k (exactly $164,918) Freaking Games
Deep Corp · EA $11.99 365 89% 11k $131k (exactly $131,290) KishMish Games
Check Inn $14.99 197 84% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) KishMish Games
Riot Operator $14.99 151 25% 4.5k $68k (exactly $67,905) Beta 2 Games
Feudal Baron: King's Land $19.99 78 33% 2.3k $47k (exactly $46,777) Sim Farm S.A.
SkyInFlames · EA $6.99 223 95% 6.7k $47k (exactly $46,763) VasyliyBritva
Deep Among the Swarm $8.99 132 85% 4.0k $36k (exactly $35,600) Pebble Mountain Games

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