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Should I ship a Sci-fi Wargame?
Wargame + Sci-fi
Of 93 developers who shipped a Sci-fi Wargame 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.. 185 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×436 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 185 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) |
| Top 25% | $17k (exactly $17,391) |
| Top 5% | $274k (exactly $273,867) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 93 |
| Released games | 297 |
| Announced | 185 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 up 45% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Wargame; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RTS, Base Building
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $22.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $22.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 34,374 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 185 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Wargame with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + NavalFair
- + TabletopFair
- + LogicFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + StealthPoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
Comparable games
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 2024 · $303M 
Starship Troopers: Extermination 2024 · $27M 
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War 2018 · $9.8M 
Starship Troopers: Terran Command 2022 · $8.3M 
Nuclear Option 2023 · EA · $6.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 | older | $59.99 | 168,628 84% | 5.1M | $303M (exactly $303,479,812) | Saber Interactive |
| | Starship Troopers: Extermination | $29.99 | 29,724 80% | 892k | $27M (exactly $26,742,683) | Offworld | |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War | older | $39.99 | 8,148 82% | 244k | $9.8M (exactly $9,775,156) | Proxy Studios |
| | Starship Troopers: Terran Command | older | $29.99 | 9,214 87% | 276k | $8.3M (exactly $8,289,836) | The Artistocrats |
| | Nuclear Option | · EA older | $19.99 | 10,275 95% | 308k | $6.2M (exactly $6,161,917) | Shockfront Studios |
 | Creeper World 4 | older | $24.99 | 4,553 94% | 137k | $3.4M (exactly $3,413,384) | Knuckle Cracker |
 | Shadow Empire | older | $39.99 | 1,431 82% | 43k | $1.7M (exactly $1,716,771) | VR Designs |
 | Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! | $24.99 | 1,352 92% | 41k | $1.0M (exactly $1,013,594) | Auroch Digital | |
 | Space Crew: Legendary Edition | older | $15.99 | 1,684 77% | 51k | $808k (exactly $807,815) | Runner Duck |
 | Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach (Classic) | older | $19.99 | 1,158 85% | 35k | $694k (exactly $694,453) | Straylight Entertainment |
 | Creeper World IXE | $19.99 | 855 69% | 26k | $513k (exactly $512,743) | Knuckle Cracker | |
 | IDUN - Frontline Survival | $14.99 | 685 77% | 21k | $308k (exactly $308,044) | IDUN Interactive | |
 | Solar Nations 2 | · EA | $14.99 | 609 85% | 18k | $274k (exactly $273,867) | Flomgus Games |
 | Realpolitiks 3: Earth and Beyond | $24.99 | 253 39% | 7.6k | $190k (exactly $189,674) | Jujubee | |
 | Drone Sector | · EA | $16.99 | 366 89% | 11k | $187k (exactly $186,550) | Icosphere |
 | Industrial Annihilation | · EA | $29.99 | 206 27% | 6.2k | $185k (exactly $185,338) | Galactic Annihilation |
 | Liquidation RTS | · EA | $21.99 | 161 89% | 4.8k | $106k (exactly $106,212) | Divio |
 | Death Ring: Second Impact | · EA | $19.99 | 163 78% | 4.9k | $98k (exactly $97,751) | Rouge Mecha |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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