Do I ship it?

Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Strategy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Strategy Souls-like?

Souls-like + Strategy

Of 42 developers who shipped a Strategy Souls-like 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.. 71 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.8k, ×2.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $770k, ×515 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 71 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 71 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Strategy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 42
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $2.4k → $1.1k → $8.9k → $3.3k → $959 (still earning) → $16k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Souls-like + Strategy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 42
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $3.8k (exactly $3,835)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $21,593)
Top 5% $772k (exactly $771,530)
Developers, 2 yr 42
Released games 147
Announced 71
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 25% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Strategy
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
Souls-like, Strategy; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, RTS
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 9,546 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $3.8k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $770k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 9 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 71 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  9. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  10. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Titan Souls 2015 · $3.6M Eastern Exorcist 2021 · $3.3M Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Prophecy of the Throne 2021 · $1.9M Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes 2026 · $864k Demon Lord: Just a Block 2026 · $805k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Titan Souls older $14.99 8,002 82% 240k $3.6M (exactly $3,598,499) Acid Nerve
Eastern Exorcist older $17.99 6,099 84% 183k $3.3M (exactly $3,291,630) Wildfire Game（无锡野火数字科技有限公司）
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Prophecy of the Throne older $59.99 1,042 87% 31k $1.9M (exactly $1,875,287) Chime Corporation
Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes $14.99 1,921 90% 58k $864k (exactly $863,874) Cats Who Play
Demon Lord: Just a Block $12.99 2,065 96% 62k $805k (exactly $804,730) YuWave
Warhounds $34.99 735 71% 22k $772k (exactly $771,530) Everplay DMCC
Journey of Realm：Dawn Dew $10.99 2,233 97% 67k $736k (exactly $736,220) 葱色兔兔/Scallion Rabbit
Corpse Keeper older $19.99 1,126 76% 34k $675k (exactly $675,262) Melancholia Studio
The Shimmering Horizon and Cursed Blacksmith $19.99 983 58% 29k $590k (exactly $589,505) Ason
Moros Protocol $24.99 731 81% 22k $548k (exactly $548,031) Pixel Reign
Moon Corona · EA $13.99 210 82% 6.3k $88k (exactly $88,137) 不倒龙工作室, Budaolong Studio
Pushing it! Together - Sisyphus Co-op $3.99 491 48% 15k $59k (exactly $58,773) Bashir "ManliestDev" Kashalo,… (Bashir "ManliestDev" Kashalo, Blind Archer)
DragonRoad $19.98 82 91% 2.5k $49k (exactly $49,151) XuJie
Soul Mates · EA $12.99 95 97% 2.9k $37k (exactly $37,022) Sad Panda Studios

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