Do I ship it?

Games › Strategy › Strategy + Science

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Science Strategy game?

Strategy + Science

Of 121 developers who shipped a Science Strategy game 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.. 172 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $970k, ×1550 the market median. Revenue is up 185% on the market; 172 games are announced against 72 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 185% on the market, 172 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy + Science
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 121
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.0k → $3.3k → $3.0k → $1.2k → $2.6k → $2.3k → $610 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy + Science: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 121
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $21,407)
Top 5% $973k (exactly $973,313)
Developers, 2 yr 121
Released games 334
Announced 172
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 185% on the market, supply 45% more developers than 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Science
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Strategy; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Building, Management
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 80,530 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $970k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 58 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 172 games are announced against 72 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Strategy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds50 devs · median $65k · 27 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair62 devs · median $16k · 74 announced
  3. + BaseballFair14 devs · median $7.5k · 7 announced
  4. + LGBTQ+Fair89 devs · median $6.7k · 91 announced
  5. + WuxiaFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 41 announced
  6. + FarmingFair44 devs · median $4.3k · 42 announced
  7. + Martial ArtsFair81 devs · median $3.0k · 94 announced
  8. + SubmarineFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  9. + NavalFair66 devs · median $2.2k · 88 announced
  10. + IdlerFair696 devs · median $1.9k · 988 announced
  11. + Shop KeeperFair159 devs · median $1.8k · 264 announced
  12. + HackingFair96 devs · median $1.2k · 132 announced

All 275 pairs on the Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Kerbal Space Program 2015 · $145M Timberborn 2026 · $40M The Alters 2025 · $16M Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game 2015 · EA · $15M The Universim 2024 · $7.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Kerbal Space Program older $39.99 120,656 95% 3.6M $145M (exactly $144,751,003) Squad
Timberborn $34.99 38,529 95% 1.2M $40M (exactly $40,443,891) Mechanistry
The Alters $34.99 15,330 90% 460k $16M (exactly $16,091,901) 11 bit studios
Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game · EA older $29.99 16,815 93% 504k $15M (exactly $15,128,456) Camshaft Software Ltd
The Universim older $29.99 8,465 79% 254k $7.6M (exactly $7,615,960) Crytivo
Prehistoric Kingdom · EA older $29.99 5,640 90% 169k $5.1M (exactly $5,074,308) Blue Meridian
Space Engineers 2 · EA $29.99 5,095 74% 153k $4.6M (exactly $4,583,972) Keen Software House
Per Aspera older $29.99 4,105 76% 123k $3.7M (exactly $3,693,268) Tlön Industries
OUTBRK · EA older $34.99 3,221 82% 97k $3.4M (exactly $3,381,084) Sublime
SpaceBourne 2 $19.99 4,951 75% 149k $3.0M (exactly $2,969,115) Burak Dabak
Aviassembly · EA $9.99 9,323 96% 280k $2.8M (exactly $2,794,103) Jelle Booij
Star Birds · EA $19.99 2,990 92% 90k $1.8M (exactly $1,793,103) Toukana Interactive
The Last Starship $19.99 1,623 75% 49k $973k (exactly $973,313) Introversion Software
Solar Expanse - Space Exploration Manager · EA $17.99 1,252 87% 38k $676k (exactly $675,704) SpaceOps
The House of Tesla: Definitive Edition $24.99 836 72% 25k $627k (exactly $626,749) Blue Brain Games
Ecosystem $19.99 601 76% 18k $360k (exactly $360,420) Tom Johnson

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