Do I ship it?

Games › RTS › RTS + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie RTS?

RTS + Zombies

Of 31 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 53 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×2.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×246 the market median. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 53 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 70% on the market, 53 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RTS + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.0k → $807 → $23k → $2.6k → $2.6k → $16k → $989 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RTS + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,254)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,992)
Top 25% $35k (exactly $34,948)
Top 5% $368k (exactly $368,103)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 105
Announced 53
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 up 70% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Zombies
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, Action RTS
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 12,963 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.3k, median $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $34k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.3k. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

RTS with a different setting or mood, 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

They Are Billions 2019 · $42M Infection Free Zone 2024 · EA · $12M Diplomacy is Not an Option 2024 · $9.8M Colony Survival 2017 · EA · $6.2M Cepheus Protocol 2020 · EA · $1.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
They Are Billions older $29.99 46,223 85% 1.4M $42M (exactly $41,586,833) Numantian Games
Infection Free Zone · EA older $24.99 16,568 80% 497k $12M (exactly $12,421,030) Jutsu Games
Diplomacy is Not an Option $29.99 10,904 85% 327k $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) Door 407
Colony Survival · EA older $24.95 8,260 92% 248k $6.2M (exactly $6,182,610) Pipliz
Cepheus Protocol · EA older $19.99 2,983 76% 89k $1.8M (exactly $1,788,905) Halcyon Winds
Bio Inc. Redemption older $12.99 3,051 87% 92k $1.2M (exactly $1,188,975) DryGin Studios
The Last Haven older $19.99 1,445 60% 43k $867k (exactly $866,566) Thunder Devs.
From Glory To Goo · EA older $11.99 1,794 96% 54k $645k (exactly $645,302) Stratagem Blue
MarZ: Tactical Base Defense older $21.99 808 77% 24k $533k (exactly $533,038) Giant Grey
Darfall $24.99 491 71% 15k $368k (exactly $368,103) SquareNite
7 Days Blood Moons · EA $9.99 418 40% 13k $125k (exactly $125,275) iLLOGIKA
Dying Breed · EA $17.99 218 71% 6.5k $118k (exactly $117,655) Sarnayer
After Long Night $9.99 381 72% 11k $114k (exactly $114,186) 疯狗工作室
Final Outpost: Definitive Edition $9.99 208 76% 6.2k $62k (exactly $62,338) Exabyte Games
DragonRoad $19.98 82 91% 2.5k $49k (exactly $49,151) XuJie
Defensurvivor $10.99 106 71% 3.2k $35k (exactly $34,948) SignatureGamez
Bees vs Zombees $7.99 89 92% 2.7k $21k (exactly $21,333) DeadPixel
Last Outpost $7.99 66 72% 2.0k $16k (exactly $15,820) Troyd Games

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