Do I ship it?

GamesRTSRTS + Vehicular Combat

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Vehicular Combat RTS?

RTS + Vehicular Combat

Only 19 developers shipped a Vehicular Combat 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, Task Force Admiral - Vol.1: American Carrier Battles, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 41 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $410. 41 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper, while revenue is down 95% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 41 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Vehicular Combat
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $60 → $899 → $2.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Vehicular Combat: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $405 (exactly $405)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $157k (exactly $156,687)
Top 5% $759k (exactly $759,410)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 57
Announced 41
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 95% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Vehicular Combat
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, Vehicular Combat; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Tactical, Action RTS
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 2,150 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $410, median $900, 1 in 4 over $150k, 1 in 20 over $750k.

3 in 10 developers made under $410. 6 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
From the Depths older $24.99 11,059 89% 332k $8.3M (exactly $8,290,932) Brilliant Skies Ltd.
Airships: Conquer the Skies older $24.99 6,197 95% 186k $4.6M (exactly $4,645,891) David Stark
Silica · EA older $19.99 4,468 77% 134k $2.7M (exactly $2,679,460) Martin 'Dram' Melichárek
Warpips older $16.99 4,339 87% 130k $2.2M (exactly $2,211,588) Skirmish Mode Games
Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail older $29.99 2,007 78% 60k $1.8M (exactly $1,805,698) Game-Labs
Task Force Admiral - Vol.1: American Carrier Battles · EA $39.99 633 87% 19k $759k (exactly $759,410) Drydock Dreams Games
Space Reign $19.99 444 72% 13k $266k (exactly $266,267) Propulsive Games
Disintegration older $29.99 210 60% 6.3k $189k (exactly $188,937) V1 Interactive
Dark Future: Blood Red States (Classic) older $24.99 250 70% 7.5k $187k (exactly $187,425) Auroch Digital
Drone Sector · EA $16.99 366 89% 11k $187k (exactly $186,550) Icosphere
Armored Brigade II $39.99 147 87% 4.4k $176k (exactly $176,356) Veitikka Studios
BattleGroupVR2 · EA $24.99 209 85% 6.3k $157k (exactly $156,687) SpaceOwl Games
Sherman Commander $29.99 117 64% 3.5k $105k (exactly $105,265) Iron Wolf Studio S.A.
Dust Raiders $15.99 160 64% 4.8k $77k (exactly $76,752) Vixa Games
Battlefield Commander WWII · EA $19.99 54 70% 1.6k $32k (exactly $32,384) Sword of Steel
SpaceCraft Brawl $4.99 17 94% 510 $2.5k (exactly $2,545) ruploz
Platoon $9.99 3 33% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Phalanx Tactical

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